Evening  Calm,  Lake  Titicaca 


IN  THE 


LAND  of  the  INCAS 


by 

F.  A.  STAHL 


“How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him 
that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace ; that 
bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salvation  ; 
that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth  1”  Isaiah  B2 : 7. 


PACIFIC  PRESS  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION 

MOUNTAIN  VIEW,  CALIFORNIA 

Kansas  City,  Mo.  St.  Paul,  Minn.  Portland,  Ore. 

Brookfield,  111.  Cristobal,  Canal  Zone 


To  those  who  desire  to  see 
this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  go 
to  all  nations  in  this  genera- 
tion this  book  is  dedicated . 
May  it  be  an  inspiration  to  all 
to  make  great  sacrifices  for 
those  ivho  know  not  Christ. 


Preface 

\Half  the  world  knows  not  how  the  other  half 
lives.”  We  are  likely  to  become  so  wrapped  up  in 
our  pleasures,  ambitions,  and  even  sorrows,  as  to  for- 
get the  needs  of  the  great  world  outside,  and  fail  to 
consider  that  we  are  at  least  in  some  degree  respon- 
sible for  the  condition  of  the  human  family  as  a whole. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  show  that  many  who  are  living 
in  idolatry,  wretchedness,  and  degradation,  and  who 
have  customs  which  we  do  not  like,  are  in  this  con- 
dition because  of  ignorance  of  the  truth,  and  that 
when  they  learn  “the  better  way,”  they  develop  into 
noble  characters.  It  is  true  that  some  do  not  take 
advantage  of  opportunity  when  it  comes  to  them; 
nevertheless,  let  the  opportunity  be  given  them. 

Our  Lord  says,  “This  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall 
be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a witness;”  not  that 
all  will  accept  it,  but  that  all  may  have  the  privilege. 
When  we  share  our  blessings,  we  find  them  greater, 
and  our  sorrows  lighter;  and  if  we  aspire  to  real 
greatness,  the  words  of  our  Saviour  found  in  Mark 
10 : 43,  44  will  help  us  to  attain  that  greatness  which 
will  always  endure. 

I desire  to  express  my  gratitude  to  the  officers  of 
the  General  Conference,  from  whom  I have  always 
received  the  kindest  and  most  courteous  help.  If  my 
work  for  the  Indians  can  be  called  a success,  that 
success  is  in  large  measure  attributable  to  encourage- 
ment from  these  brethren. 

My  acknowledgments  are  also  due  to  Mr.  F.  E. 
Hinckley,  superintendent  of  the  Harvard  Observatory 

(9) 


_____ 


10  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

at  Arequipa,  Peru,  who,  when  I was  worn  with  work, 
opened  his  hospitable  home  to  me,  and  who  gave  me 
instruction  in  photography,  and  furnished  some  of  the 
photographs  used  in  illustrating  this  book;  to  Elder 
M.  C.  Wilcox  and  Mrs.  Adelaide  D.  Wellman  -for  many 
valuable  suggestions  and  for  correcting  the  manu- 
script; to  all  connected  with  the  Pacific  Press  Publish- 
ing Association,  who  were  very  friendly  and  obliging 
during  my  stay  at  that  institution;  and  to  Professor 
M.  E.  Kern,  whose  kind  persistence  is  directly  re- 
sponsible for  my  undertaking  this  work  at  this  time. 

F.  A.  Stahl. 


C O X T E N T S 

CHAPTER 

Introduction  - 

I On  the  Roof  of  the  World  - 
II  Inca  Ruins  and  Traditions  - 

III  A Primitive  People  ------ 

IV  Missionary  Mining 

V  Exigencies  of  Missionary  Pioneering 

VI  An  Oppressed  Race 

VII  A Transformation  ------ 

VIII  By  Way  of  Encouragement  - 
IX  “Christianity”  That  Is  Not  Christian  - 

X Help  from  High  Sources 

XI  Reconnoitering  ------- 

XII  Proof  of  Appreciation 

XIII  The  Broken  Pebble 

XIV  A Mysterious  Rescue 

XV  Enemies  Disarmed 

XVI  The  Quichuas  Calling  for  Help  - 
XVII  In  Perils  Oft  ------- 

XVIII  Supplementary  Notes  - - 

XIX  Among  the  Missions  About  Lake  Titicaca 


PAGE 

17 

35 

49 

68 

87 

98 

105 

126 

144 

157 

183 

188 

202 

220 

233 

253 

261 

272 

286 

295 


(ID 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Evening  Calm  -------  Frontispiece 

Map  of  the  Lake  Titicaca  Region  - - - - 16 

Transverse  Sections  of  the  Andes  - 19 

Monolithic  Image  at  Tiahuanuco  - - - - 21 

Part  of  the  Original  Wall,  Temple  of  the  Sun, 

Cuzco - 25 

Street  in  Cuzco  Showing  Original  Inca  Walls  - 27 

Ancient  Inca  Masonry  Contrasted  with  Inferior 

Modern  Construction  ------  29 

F.  A.  Stahl,  the  Author  -------  24 

Landing  Place,  Mollendo,  “the  Roughest  Port 

in  the  World” 36 

The  Famous  Sand  Dunes  Between  Mollendo  and 

Arequipa --38 

Street  Market,  Arequipa,  Peru,  Showing  the 

Fruit  of  Soil  and  Loom  -----  40 

Mount  Misti,  a Live  Volcano,  Arequipa,  Peru  - 45 

“La  Balsa”  (Straw  Boat),  Lake  Titicaca  - - 47 

An  Archway  in  Cuzco 50 

A Wall  of  Coricancha,  Joints  in  Masonry  Almost 

Invisible 52 

Indian  Woman  Weaving  Ponchos 55 

Harvesting  the  Wool  Crop  from  Alpacas  - - 57 

A Cholo  Woman  and  Child 61 

A Mountain  Coach - 65- 

Indians  of  South  America 69 

An  Ordinary  Peruvian  Road  -----  73 

Indian  of  the  Tropics  of  the  Yungas  of  Bolivia  - 77 

A Natural  Cut  81 

A Child  of  Peru 86 

Altar  on  the  Summit  of  One  of  the  Highest 

Mountains 91 

Missionaries  Greeted  with  Flags  by  the  Quenuani 

School ----95 

Street  Scene  in  La  Paz 99 

A Peruvian  Mountaineer 103 

Indian  Woman  Grinding  Barley  - 106 

A “Finca”  (Farm)  in  the  Cuzco  Valley  - 111 

Llamas  Carrying  Grain  over  the  Mountains  - 119 

A Mask  Used  by  Indian  Dancers  -----  121 
Teaching  Children  to  Dance  and  Drink  Alcohol  123 
The  First  Mission  Headquarters  - 127 

Indian  Water  Carrier  - 133 

Indian  110  Years  Old,  from  Whom  the  First  Mis- 
sion Land  Was  Purchased 135 

Aymara  Indian  Hair  Dressing 139 

(13) 


14 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Indian  Convert  Plowing  with  a Crooked  Stick  - 141 
The  Sick  Coming  to  the  Plateria  Dispensary  - 144 

0ur  First  Mission  House  Going  Up  at  Plateria  - 147 
Our  First  Choir  Among  the  Indians  - - - 151 

A Group  of  Straw  Boats  on  Lake  Titicaca  - - 153 

Dariteo,  One  of  Our  Indian  Teachers  - 159 

Indians  and  Shrine  Before  a Church  Near  Cuzco  165 
The  First  Baptism  Among  the  Indians  - - 169 

Indian  Families  Returning  from  Market,  Puno, 

Peru  -----------  173 

Catholic  Church  at  Laraos  Where  Meetings  Were 

Held  by  Our  Missionaries  -----  177 

Mrs.  Stahl  and  Her  Indian  School  - 187 

Chulpa,  or  Royal  Monument,  Umayo,  Peru  - - 189 

Meeting  with  the  Indians — Always  the  Best  of 

Attention  - --  --  --  --  195 

Indians  Making  Grass  Boats  -----  199 

After  the  Sabbath  Services  at  Plateria  - 293 

Chief  Camacho  and  Juan  Huanca  - 207 

Inca  Ruins,  South  America 299 

Lunch  Time  - - - --  --  --  213 

Family  Group  of  Indians  Near  Lake  Titicaca  - 221 
Indian  Officials,  Called  “Hilacatas”  - 223 

As  the  Indians  Often  Meet  Our  Missionaries  - 227 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stahl  About  to  Start  for  a Visit 

Among  the  Indians  ------  235 

High  Mountain  Indians 243 

The  Island  of  the  Sun,  Lake  Titicaca  - - - 249 

Our  Second  Mission  Station  - 255 

Communion  Services  Among  the  Indians  - - 260 

The  First  Messengers  from  the  Quichuas  - - 262 

Among  the  Indians  of  the  High  Mountain  Region, 

Elevation  16,000  Feet 265 

“Treasures  of  Snow  and  Hail” 267 

Indian  Teachers  Now  in  the  Field  - - - 269 

Luciano,  Our  First  Indian  Pastor,  and  His  Wife  - 278 
Honorato,  Rescued  by  the  Gospel  from  Deplorable 

Darkness,  and  Now  a Teacher  - - - - 279 

Peruvian  Women  283 

Lake  Titicaca  Colporteurs’  Institute  Held  in 

1919  ----------  287 

The  Main  Station  as  It  Now  Is  293 

Baptism  in  Lake  Titicaca  ------  297 

A Road  Along  the  Edge  of  a Two  Thousand  Foot 

Precipice  - 299 


God 


commendeth  His  love 
toward  us,  in  that , while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died 
for  us.  Romans  5:8. 


Introduction 


[Note. — The  facts  of  this  “Introduction,”  it  is  per- 
haps needless  to  say,  have  been  gathered  largely  from 
Prescott’s  great  work,  “Peru.”  Other  more  recent 
works,  as  “Peru,”  by  Geraldine  Guinness,  “South  of 
Panama,”  by  Dr.  Edward  Alsworth  Ross,  of  Wisconsin 
University,  and  articles  in  magazines,  notably  in  the 
National  Geographic,  have  been  consulted.  We  make 
special  note  of  the  issues  of  April,  1913,  February, 
1915,  and  May,  1916,  containing  reports  of  the  ex- 
plorations of  the  National  Geographic  Society  and 
Yale  University,  by  Hiram  Bingham,  director.  The 
author  of  the  story  which  follows,  Mr.  F.  A.  Stahl,  has 
been  too  busy  in  his  medical  missionary  work  to  give 
attention  to  this  historical  sketch.  Yet  the  publishers 
have  thought  that  such  a sketch  is  needed  to  give  the 
proper  setting  to  the  heart-gripping  story  which 
follows.] 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  SPANIARDS 

IN  1532  and  1533,  the  Spaniards,  led  by 
Francisco  Pizarro  and  Diego  de  Almagro, 
both  of  them  without  legitimate  parent- 
age, without  education  sufficient  to  sign  their 
names, — two  things  not  uncommon  in  the 
middle  ages, — both  soldiers  of  fortune,  lured 
by  the  greed  of  gold,  entered,  under  the 
guise  of  friendship,  into  the  great  empire  of 

the  Incas,  entrapped  and  slew  the  king,  Ata- 

(17) 


18  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

hualpa,  and  seized  the  empire  for  Spain. 
Pizarro  promised  Atahualpa,  whom  he  cap- 
tured by  falsehood  and  horrible  slaughter  of 
his  defenseless  retinue,  his  freedom  if  he 
would  fill  a room  with  gold, — 8,366  cubic 
feet.  When  the  room  was  nearly  filled, 
Pizarro  absolved  him  from  further  obligation, 
trumped  up  false  charges  against  him,  found 
him  guilty  of  death,  and  sentenced  him  to  be 
burned  publicly.  This  was  changed  to  the 
garrote  — choking  to  death  — if  Atahualpa 
would  embrace  the  cross.  This  he  did,  and 
his  murderers  mourned  him  as  a Christian. 
Treachery  and  cruelty  marked  their  every 
step.  Professing  to  be  heralds  of  the  Saviour 
and  Lifegiver,  they  spread  death  and  desola- 
tion everywhere  their  horses’  feet  trod  or  their 
sabers  clanked. 

It  was  a fateful  time  for  the  Incas.  Their 
empire  spread  from  and  included  Ecuador  on 
the  north  to  Argentina  on  the  south,  along 
the  mighty  backbone  of  the  Andes  from 
Chimborazo  to  Aconcagua;  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean  on  the  west  into  the  valley  of  the 
Amazon  in  the  east;  lying  largely  in  the 
torrid  zone,  yet,  on  account  of  its  high  moun- 
tains, embracing  every  variety  of  soil  and  cli- 


INTRODUCTION  19 

1 Wyrf/  • %•  <;%  VT'  v y&. *"*%!%,>• 

mate,  from  its  stretches  of  burning,  shifting 
sand  by  the  sea  to  the  table-lands  14,000  feet 
high  among  the  mountains,  which,  with  their 
everlasting  diadems  of  snow,  tower  into  the 
heavens  to  a height  of  20,000  feet.  It  was  an 
empire  worthy  of  a great  people.  But  when 
the  Spaniards  entered,  it  was  divided  through 
the  folly  of  the  last  great  Inca,  Huayna 


Capac,  who  had  broken  one  of  the  primal 
laws  of  his  realm,  and  given  part  of  the  em- 
pire, Ecuador,  to  one  who  was  not  a legal 
heir.  Hence  division.  Hence  war.  Hence 
weakness.  Otherwise  the  story  might  have 
been  different. 

WHAT  THE  SPANIARD  FOUND 

He  found  more  than  savage  nomadic  tribes 
living  in  caves  or  tents  and  by  the  chase. 
He  found  more  than  a wild,  barbaric  king- 
dom. He  found  a civilization,  ruled  by  those 


20 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


whose  tradition  taught  them  they  were  chil- 
dren of  the  sun.  From  these  children  of  the 
sun  must  the  ruler  always  come  pure  bred. 
There  were  traditions  and  ruins  of  a pre-Inca 
people,  who  worshiped  Pachacamac,  the  giver 
and  source  of  life,  and  built  him  a mighty 
temple  near  where  Lima  now  stands,  and  rep- 
resented him  by  an  ugly  idol;  and  perhaps 
these  people  were  the  authors  of  the  mono- 
lithic ruins  at  Tiahuanuco.  No  one  knows. 
Suffice  to  say,  the  Incas  in  a general  way 
recognized  Pachacamac,  but  their  god  was 
Inti,  the  sun;  his  consort,  the  moon;  his  royal 
page,  Chasca  (Venus)  ; the  stars,  the  moon’s 
attendants;  the  gods  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning, the  sun’s  dread  ministers;  and  the  rain- 
bow, a revelation  of  his  glory. 

The  Spaniard  found  a numerous  priest- 
hood, and  elaborate  sacrifices,  ceremonies,  and 
ritual.  Human  sacrifices  were  rare.  The 
Inca,  or  king,  was  himself  divine,  far  above 
his  people,  yet  bound  to  them  by  the  kindness, 
the  fatherhood,  the  justness  of  his  reign,  and 
their  unquestioned  reverence  for  him.  They 
had  traditions  of  the  deluge,  and  a belief  in 
the  resurrection,  therefore  the  embalming  of 
their  dead. 


Monolithic  Image  at  Tiahuanuco 


(21) 


22  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

The  Spaniard  found  a regular  system  of 
education,  although  no  alphabet  or  hiero- 
glyphics. The  quipuj  an  arrangement  of  col- 
ored and  knotted  cords  and  threads,  was  made 
to  do  wonderful  service  in  a large  number  of 
ways.  By  it  the  census  was  taken  yearly  and 
recorded.  Account  was  kept  of  the  amounts 
of  gold  and  silver  in  the  storehouses.  The 
number  of  the  army,  its  rank  and  file,  were 
registered.  It  served  as  a memory  jogger  to 
the  teachers  who  instructed  their  students  in 
the  history  and  resources  of  the  empire  and  the 
great  deeds  of  the  Incas.  Its  use  was  a science 
in  itself. 

The  Spaniard  found  a very  acceptable  lan- 
guage in  the  Quichua,  the  legal  language  of 
the  Inca  empire,  in  which  the  great  men  and 
the  nobility  and  the  priests  were  carefully 
taught,  though  Aymara  and  other  dialects 
were  spoken  among  the  various  peoples  com- 
posing the  empire.  Poetry,  drama,  history, 
and  religion  were  taught  in  song  and  story  by 
word  of  mouth,  and  often  repeated. 

The  Spaniard  found  a system  of  govern- 
ment that  furnished  employment  for  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  empire,  and 
provided  plentifully  for  the  sick,  the  infirm, 


INTRODUCTION 


23 


the  incapacitated.  He  found  that  crops,  land, 
and  clothing  were  so  conserved,  stored,  and 
divided  that  no  one  was  in  want.  He  found 
that  the  work  most  detrimental  of  all  to 
health  — mining  — was  so  regulated  that  none 
suffered  hardship.  The  laws  were  few,  and 
penalties  severe.  Blasphemy  against  the  sun, 
the  cursing  of  the  king,  murder,  theft,  and 
adultery  were  punished  with  death.  Arson, 
removing  landmarks,  and  turning  a neighbor’s 
water  into  one’s  own  plat  of  land,  were 
severely  punished.  There  were  lower  courts 
and  higher  courts  to  adjust  matters.  Every- 
thing essential  to  public  order  was  carefully 
guarded.  The  whole  empire  was  divided  into 
groups  of  ten  thousand,  one  thousand,  five 
hundred,  one  hundred,  fifty,  and  ten;  and 
over  each  division,  proper  officers  held  to 
strict  account. 

The  Spaniard  found  as  fine  buildings,  with 
the  exception  of  the  thatched  roofs,  as  Europe 
could  boast;  walls  built  of  tremendous  stones, 
often  moved  great  distances,  sometimes  so 
nicely  fitted  together,  even  in  irregular  angles, 
that  it  was  in  some  cases  well-nigh  impossible 
to  distinguish  the  seam;  and  these  buildings 
were  embellished  with  such  richness  of  gold, 


24 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


silver,  and  precious  stones  as  greedy  eyes  had 
never  seen  before.  This  gold  and  silver  was 
the  largess  of  the  god  and  goddess  of  the 
realm.  Gold,  their  poets  sang,  was  “the  tears 
wept  by  the  sun.” 

He  found  marriage  regulations  wise  and 
strong  — polygamy,  it  is  true,  among  the 
higher  classes ; the  lower,  monogamists.  Every 
family  had  its  land  and  home,  with  additional 
land  as  children  came. 

The  Spaniard  found  a military  system  equal 
to  those  of  Europe,  but  without  firearms  or 
cavalry.  Wars  of  conquest  were  continually 
fought,  but  manifesting  toward  the  conquered 
a mercy  that  barbaric  civilizations  in  Europe 
never  knew. 

The  Spaniard  found  a system  for  raising 
v revenues  in  which  there  were  neither  cruel 
executions  nor  oppression  nor  enslavement. 
The  produce  came  from  the  land,  the  mines, 
the  fisheries.  First  of  all  came  the  tilling  of 
the  lands  of  the  sun,  then  for  the  needy  and 
ill  and  infirm,  then  for  the  common  people, 
and  last  for  the  royal  family. 

The  Spaniard  found  throughout  the  em- 
pire a system  of  highways  in  which  the  en- 
gineering difficulties  overcome  were  worthy  of 


(25) 


Part  of  the-  Original  Wall,  Temple  of  the  Sun,  Cuzco 


26  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

a Goethals.  Mighty  chasms  were  spanned, 
deep  crevices  walled,  mountains  tunneled,  pas- 
sageways cut  through  solid  rock,  drifting 
sands  overcome,  morasses  bridged;  and  some 
of  these  great  roads,  despite  the  corroding  in- 
fluence of  the  conquerors,  still  exist. 

The  Spaniard  found  a truly  scientific  sys- 
tem of  husbandry,  much  of  which  this  scien- 
tific generation  cannot  or  has  not  improved 
upon.  The  mountain  sides  were  terraced,  fer- 
tilized, and  irrigated.  The  barren  was  made 
to  produce.  Every  available  foot  of  land  was 
used  to  help  in  supplying  the  large  popula- 
tion of  the  empire.  The  superfluous  crops 
were  stored  in  great  stone  granaries ; and 
over  the  splendid  roads,  the  llama  bore  sup- 
plies to  those  parts  of  the  empire  where  the 
people  might  be  in  need.  Guano  was  brought 
from  the  islands  of  the  coast,  and  the  sea 
fowls  themselves  were  protected.  The  wild 
flocks  of  alpacas  and  vicunas  were  shielded  by 
law,  and  quadrennially  rounded  up,  that  wool 
might  be  obtained  from  all,  and  flesh  from  the 
males.  The  domestic  flocks  of  llamas  and 
sheep  were  systematically  moved  from  place 
to  place  to  secure  sufficient  pasturage. 


Street  in  Cuzco  Showing  Original  Inca  Walls 

(27) 


28 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


The  Spaniard  found  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Inca  mighty  cities  and  marvelous  temples,  as 
Cuzco,  a long  time  the  capital  of  the  empire, 
with  its  marvelous  wealth  of  gold  and  silver 
plate,  its  gold  effigies  of  the  Incas,  its  gold 
friezes  and  cornices  of  the  temple  of  the  sun; 
as  Manchu  Picchu,  thought  to  be  the  “lost 
city  of  the  Incas,”  also  known  as  “Tampu- 
Tocco,”  or  “Window  Tavern,”  the  magnifi- 
cent ruins  of  which  were  recently  explored  by 
the  National  Geographic  Society  and  Yale 
University;  and  other  cities  and  towns  of 
lesser  note  that  were  robbed  and  ruined  by 
the  conquerors. 

Into  this  kingdom  of  primitive  patriarchal 
despotism  — better  of  its  kind  than  any 
Europe  ever  knew  — came  the  Spaniard.  He 
found  there,  to  sum  up,  no  one  in  want,  no 
beggars  or  mendicant  friars;  no  lack  of  life’s 
necessities;  the  infant,  the  sick,  and  the  infirm 
looked  after  first,  not  as  charity,  but  as  a 
matter  of  proper  administration;  little  if  any 
crime  or  outbreaking  immorality;  commend- 
able industry,  unswerving  loyalty  to  the 
government;  he  found  art,  beauty,  skill, 
greatness. 


Ancient  Inca  Masonry  Contrasted  with  Inferior 
Modern  Construction 


(29) 


30  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

He  came  in  the  name  of  Christ,  with  fair 
promise  and  seeming  friendliness.  But  he 
came  also  with  a greed  of  gold  that  out- 
weighed all  love  for  souls  for  whom  Christ 
died;  came  with  fanatical  unreason,  believing 
that  the  faith  of  Christ  could  be  propagated 
by  force,  by  sword  and  fire  and  torture;  came 
with  death-dealing  powder  and  ball,  only  in 
his  methods  of  destruction  superior  to  the 
Incas. 

Where  order  had  been,  confusion  reigned; 
where  plenty  had  smiled,  famine  reared  her 
ghastly  head.  Where  justice  had  ruled,  op- 
pression and  slavery  bound  men  in  chains. 
The  superstition  of  idolatry  gave  way  to  the 
worse  superstition  of  a perverted  Christian- 
ity. The  better  idolatrous  kingdom  fell,  and 
the  so-called  Christian  kingdom  followed;  and 
of  its  civilization  after  four  centuries,  men  are 
led  to  say,  “South  America  oozes  ignorance, 
superstition,  and  inefficiency  in  its  masses.” 

Yet  it  would  not  be  just  to  say  that  all 
Spaniards  were  like  Francisco  Pizarro,  or  his 
Dominican  friar,  Valverde,  or  the  covetous, 
licentious  lot  that  have  followed  them.  There 
were  priests  of  the  Las  Casas  type,  who 
longed  to  save  men,  and  who  wrote  that 


INTRODUCTION 


31 


strongest  of  indictments,  in  1542,  “Destruc- 
tion of  Indians.”  There  were  men  like  Men- 
doza, and  Sarmiento,  and  Ondegardo,  who 
were  better  than  their  creed,  and  who  pro- 
tested against  the  cruelty  and  wrong  and  in- 
justice heaped  upon  those  to  whom  everything 
belonged  and  who  were  robbed  of  everything, 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  And  there  are  noble 
men  in  South  America  who,  protesting  against 
the  abuse  of  the  Indian,  continue  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  as  Mr.  Stahl  discloses.  We  close  this 
introduction  in  the  words  of  a Spanish 
Roman  Catholic  who  was  with  Pizarro.  We 
copy  from  the  National  Geographic  Magazine 
of  May,  1916,  page  521: 

“True  confession  and  protestation  in  the 
hour  of  death  by  one  of  the  first  Spaniards, 
conquerors  of  Peru,  named  Marcio  Serra  de 
Lejesama,  with  his  will  proved  in  the  city  of 
Cuzco  on  the  fifteenth  of  November,  1589, 
before  Geronimo  Sanchez  de  Quesada,  public 
notary. 

“First,  before  beginning  my  will,  I declare 
that  I have  desired  much  to  give  notice  to  his 
Catholic  majesty  King  Philip,  our  lord,  see- 
ing how  good  a Catholic  and  Christian  he  is, 
and  how  zealous  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  our 


32  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

God,  concerning  that  which  I would  relieve 
my  mind  of,  by  reason  of  having  taken  part 
in  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  these  coun- 
tries, which  we  took  from  the  lords  Yncas, 
and  placed  under  the  royal  crown,  a fact 
which  is  known  to  his  Catholic  majesty. 

“The  said  Yncas  governed  in  such  a way 
that  in  all  the  land  neither  a thief,  nor  a 
vicious  man,  nor  a bad,  dishonest  woman  was 
known.  The  men  all  had  honest  and  profit- 
able employment.  The  woods,  and  mines,  and 
all  kinds  of  property  were  so  divided  that  each 
man  knew  what  belonged  to  him,  and  there 
were  no  lawsuits.  The  Yncas  were  feared, 
obeyed,  and  respected  by  their  subjects,  as  a 
race  very  capable  of  governing;  but  we  took 
away  their  land,  and  placed  it  under  the 
crown  of  Spain,  and  made  them  subjects. 

“Your  majesty  must  understand  that  my 
reason  for  making  this  statement  is  to  relieve 
my  conscience,  for  we  have  destroyed  this 
people  by  our  bad  examples.  Crimes  were 
once  so  little  known  among  them  that  an  In- 
dian with  one  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  gold 
and  silver  in  his  house,  left  it  open,  only  plac- 
ing a little  stick  across  the  door,  as  the  sign 
that  the  master  was  out,  and  nobody  went  in. 


INTRODUCTION 


33 


But  when  they  saw  that  we  placed  locks  and 
keys  on  our  doors,  they  understood  that  it  was 
from  fear  of  thieves,  and  when  they  saw  that 
we  had  thieves  amongst  us,  they  despised  us. 
All  this  I tell  your  majesty,  to  discharge  my 
conscience  of  a weight,  that  I may  no  longer 
be  a party  to  these  things.  And  I pray  God 
to  pardon  me,  for  I am  the  last  to  die  of  all 
the  discoverers  and  conquerors,  as  it  is  notori- 
ous that  there  are  none  left  but  me,  in  this 
land  or  out  of  it,  and  therefore  I now  do  what 
I can  to  relieve  my  conscience.’’ 

The  original  Spanish  is  given  in  Prescott’s 
“Peru,”  appendix  4,  volume  2,  page  335. 

Evidently  the  horrible  butcheries  and 
treacheries  did  not  weigh  so  heavily  upon  the 
conscience  of  the  old  soldier,  as  they  were 
done  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

But  light  is  breaking;  and  it  is  dawning 
not  only  in  the  minds  of  Bie  Quichuas  and 
the  Aymaras,  so  long  oppressed,  but  in  the 
minds  of  the  best  men  in  Peru.  The  gospel 
of  God  does  not  compel,  it  persuades;  it  does 
not  force  compliance,  it  wins  souls  to  life. 

The  Publishers. 


3 


(34) 


F.  A.  Stahl,  the  Author 


CHAPTER  I 


On  the  Roof  of  the  World 

ary^HE  roughest  port  in  all  the  world !” 
? That  is  what  one  of  the  ship’s  offi- 
cers said  as  we  cast  anchor  at  the 
port  of  Mollendo,  Peru,  after  a voyage  of 
twenty  days  from  New  York. 

Just  then  appeared  an  interesting  sight. 
Racing  through  the  water  were  some  thirty 
small  boats,  each  containing  two  or  three  men, 
who  were  pulling  wildly  at  their  oars,  trying 
to  get  to  our  ship  first.  Five  or  six  boats 
reached  the  ship’s  ladder  at  the  same  time; 
but  before  they  had  touched  the  side  of  the 
vessel,  the  men  were  jumping  upon  the  ladder, 
pushing  and  crowding  one  another  as  they 
bounded  on  board. 

In  another  moment,  there  was  an  excited 
jabbering  of  Spanish  at  the  passengers.  The 
boatmen  were  all  eager  to  help  the  passengers 
ashore,  bag  and  baggage.  We  did  not  un- 
derstand their  speech,  but  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  with  us  E.  W.  Thomann,  who 
spoke  the  language,  and  who  had  made  this 
trip  before.  He  arranged  with  two  of  the 
to  take  us  ashore.  They  soon  had  our 

(35) 


men 


Landing  Place,  Mollendo,  “the  Roughest  Port  in  the  World1 


ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD  37 

baggage  in  their  boat;  and  after  some  little 
difficulty,  we  entered. 

The  waves  were  running,  high,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  a miracle  that  we  did  not  cap- 
size. As  we  neared  the  landing,  we  saw  some 
of  the  people  hoisted  onto  the  pier  in  a large 
chair  hauled  up  by  a hoisting  engine.  Our 
men,  however,  said  they  could  land  us  without 
the  aid  of  the  engine;  and  after  several  des- 
perate attempts,  we  finally  managed  to  step 
upon  the  stair  that  extended  into  the  water 
from  the  pier.  We  quickly  passed  through 
the  customs,  and  boarding  a train  that  was  in 
waiting,  were  soon  on  our  way  to  “the  roof  of 
the  world.” 

Every  foot  of  the  way  is  upgrade;  and  the 
curves  of  the  railroad  are  so  sharp  and  numer- 
ous that  some  of  the  passengers  became  train- 
sick.  For  many  hours,  we  traversed  vast 
sandy  wastes,  passing  great  heaps  of  white 
sand,  which  we  were  told  were  the  famous 
moving  sand  dunes  of  Peru.  These  sand 
dunes  are  crescent-shaped,  over  a hundred  feet 
long,  and  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  high;  and 
one  peculiar  thing  about  them,  owing  to  the 
prevailing  winds,  is  that  the  crescent  always 
lies  in  the  same  direction. 


(38) 


The  Famous  Sand  Dunes  Between  Mollendo  and  Arequipa,  Peru 


ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD  39 

Just  at  dusk,  our  train  pulled  into  Are- 
quipa,  a city  of  40,000  inhabitants,  situated 
about  7,000  feet  above  sea  level.  Here  we 
were  to  stop  overnight,  as  our  train  did  not 
go  on  until  the  next  morning.  We  secured 
lodgings  near  the  station;  and  leaving  my 
wife,  daughter,  and  baby  boy  at  the  hotel, 
I went  with  Pastor  Thomann  to  visit  some  of 
the  people  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  The 
narrow,  winding  streets  contrasted  strangely 
with  the  wide  thoroughfares  of  the  North 
American  cities  to  which  I had  been  ac- 
customed. 

After  fifteen  minutes’  walk,  we  stopped  at 
a low  building,  and  rapped  on  the  door.  A 
stout,  dark  man  appeared,  who  greeted  us 
most  profusely,  throwing  his  arms  about  my 
friend  first,  then  embracing  me.  I was  rather 
embarrassed  by  this  style  of  greeting,  but  it 
is  quite  usual  in  South  America. 

We  were  shown  into  the  house,  and  while 
my  fellow  traveler  and  our  host  were  carrying 
on  a lively  conversation  in  a tongue  then  un- 
known to  me,  I was  looking  about.  On  one 
side  of  the  room  in  which  we  sat,  was  a bed 
occupied  by  some  one  who  appeared  to  be 
very  restless;  and  as  soon  as  there  was  a lull 


40 


IN  THE.  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


in  the  conversation,  I asked  what  ailed  the 
person  in  the  bed.  The  host  answered,  “Oh, 
that  is  one  of  my  children,  down  sick  with 
smallpox!”  I was  dumfounded.  But  I felt 
thankful  that  I had  been  vaccinated.  I after- 
ward learned  that  these  people  regard  small- 
pox a great  deal  as  some  people  in  America 


Street  Market,  Arequipa,  Peru,  Showing  the  Fruit 
of  Soil  and  Loom 


ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD  41 

regard  measles.  They  say,  “The  sooner  you 
have  it,  the  better.” 

After  a few  moments,  we  bade  our  host 
good  night,  and  made  our  way  over  the  rough, 
dark  road  to  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  where 
the  Harvard  Observatory  is  located.  , An 
hour’s  hard  walking  through  the  darkness 
brought  us  to  the  place,  and  we  spent  a very 
pleasant  two  hours  with  Mr.  Frank  E.  Hinck- 
ley, the  superintendent  of  the  institution.  He 
proved  to  be  a most  affable  man.  He  showed 
us  about  the  observatory,  explaining  the  work- 
ings of  the  huge  telescopes;  and  we  looked 
through  some  of  them  at  the  wonders  of  the 
heavens. 

As  we  were  making  our  way  along  the  dark 
streets  again  to  our  lodgings,  we  heard  the 
twanging  of  guitars  at  different  places,  as  an 
accompaniment  to  what  at  that  time  I thought 
was  the  most  horrible  singing  I had  ever 
heard.  The  musicians  were  serenaders,  who 
often  spend  most  of  the  night  in  this  way. 

When  we  entered  our  hotel,  there  was  an 
excited  mob  of  people  in  the  street;  and  we 
were  told  that  during  our  absence,  the  hotel 
had  caught  fire.  I found  my  family  nearly 
exhausted  from  fatigue  and  the  fire  scare. 


42  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

When  the  fire  broke  out,  the  people  filled  the 
place,  all  talking  at  once ; and  as  the  language 
was  strange  to  my  wife,  she  could  not  under- 
stand what  was  the  matter,  until  she  saw  the 
smoke.  Fortunately  the  blaze  was  put  out, 
and  very  little  damage  was  done. 

STILL  CLIMBING  THE  MOUNTAINS 

The  next  morning  at  seven,  amidst  a great 
crowd  of  people,  we  boarded  the  train  for 
Puno.  We  were  surprised  to  find  the  train 
so  crowded.  About  every  place  was  taken, 
but  finally  we  succeeded  in  getting  seats. 
There  was  a tremendous  amount  of  excited 
talking,  which  is  a feature  of  Latin  American 
life  that  always  seems  strange  to  us.  As  the 
bell  sounded  for  the  starting  of  the  train,, 
nearly  every  one  on  the  train,  to  our  great 
amazement,  made  a rush  for  the  doors.  It 
developed  that  there  were  very  few  passen- 
gers, but  many  friends  to  see  off  the  few.  As 
the  train  moved  out,  we  adjusted  our  baggage, 
and  found  more  comfortable  seats. 

Up  to  this  time,  we  had  not  been  conscious 
of  any  effects  of  the  altitude;  but  after  we 
reached  an  elevation  of  12,000  feet,  we  began 
to  feel  uneasy.  However,  we  blamed  the 


ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD  43 

cigarette  smoke  for  this.  Nearly  every  one 
smokes  on  the  trains  here.  About  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  had  reached 
Crucero  Alto,  the  highest  point  of  the  railway, 
14,300  feet  above  sea  level,  we  all  began  to 
have  headaches,  and  some  of  the  passengers 
were  prostrated.  The  air  became  very  cold, 
and  we  could  breathe  only  with  difficulty. 

PUNO DISCOURAGING  OUTLOOK 

Just  at  sundown,  our  train  pulled  into 
Puno,  a town  located  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Titicaca.  We  secured  lodgings  at  the  only 
hotel  at  that  time  in  the  little  town,  and  were 
ready  to  retire,  as  we  were  suffering  because 
of  the  altitude;  but  the  proprietor  insisted 
that  we  have  some  supper.  He  told  us  that 
we  would  feel  a great  deal  better  after  eating. 
Accordingly,  we  were  ushered  into  the  dining 
room. 

The  first  course  served  was  some  very  hot 
soup  — not  so  hot  from  the  fire  over  which  it 
had  been  cooked,  as  from  the  abundance  of 
red  pepper  it  contained.  As  the  kitchen  door 
leading  to  the  dining  room  swung  open,  we 
beheld  a sight  that  rather  discouraged  us  from 
eating  any  more.  The  cook  would  throw  the 


44 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


pans  down  on  the  floor  when  he  had  taken  the 
food  from  them;  and  in  a moment,  they  would 
be  full  of  guinea  pigs,  which  were"  eating  the 
residue  from  the  same  pan  in  which  our  food 
had  been  cooked. 

We  were  to  stop  at  this  place  for  two  days 
to  wait  for  a little  steamer  to  take  us  across 
to  the  other  side  of  the  lake.  The  next  morn- 
ing, we  took  a stroll  about  the  village;  and 
never  in  our  lives  did  we  meet  a more  dis- 
couraging sight.  The  air  was  cold,  the  place 
looked  very  dreary,  and  the  people  seemed  to 
be  unsociable.  My  wife  and  daughter  re- 
marked, “Evidently  we  have  come  to  the 
wrong  place  to  do  missionary  work.”  Little 
did  we  think,  at  that  time,  that  only  a few 
years  later,  we  should  be  privileged  to  open  a 
mission  for  the  Indians  near  this  place.  Early 
in  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  we  boarded 
the  little  steamer  called  “The  Inca,”  which 
was  to  take  us  across  the  lake  to  Bolivia.  The 
weather  had  changed,  and  never  had  we  seen 
such  bright  sunshine.  The  air  was  so  clear 
that  one  could  easily  see  mountains  over  a 
hundred  miles  away. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  idea,  this  region,  al- 
though situated  in  the  torrid  zone,  is  always 


(45) 


Mount  Misti,  a Live  Volcano,  Arequipa,  Peru 


46  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

too  cool  for  comfort,  because  of  the  high 
altitude.  The  summers  are  wet  and  cold,  and 
the  winters  dry  and  cold.  The  atmosphere  is 
highly  charged  with  electricity,  which  is  very 
taxing  on  the  nervous  system ; and  the  altitude 
requires  one  to  have  good  heart  and  lungs. 
During  the  day,  the  thermometer  indicates 
fifty  degrees  in  the  shade,  while  the  sunshine 
is  exceedingly  warm.  The  nights,  however, 
are  bitterly  cold,  the  mercury  falling  below 
the  freezing  point.  These  quick,  severe 
changes  are  unhealthful,  causing  especially 
much  catarrhal  trouble. 

The  course  of  our  tiny  steamer  followed  the 
shore,  giving  us  good  opportunity  to  see  the 
country.  We  were  struck  by  its  barrenness. 
There  were  no  trees  or  vegetation  anywhere 
in  sight.  We  were  right  up  in  the  heart  of 
the  great  Indian  country.  Millions  of  In- 
dians live  on  the  table-land  surrounding  this 
lake.  Thousands  of  little  mud  huts  could  be 
seen  along  the  shore;  and  as  we  thought  of 
the  many  thousands  of  these  poor,  neglected 
Indians,  our  hearts  went  out  to  them,  and  we 
prayed  the  prayer  of  Jabez  — 1 Chronicles 
4:10  — that  the  Lord  would  enlarge  our 


ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  WORLD  47 

coasts,  and  enable  us  to  do  these  people  some 
good. 

Lake  Titicaca  contains  over  four  thousand 
square  miles,  being  about  the  size  of  Lake 
Erie.  It  is  the  highest  navigable  lake  in  all 
the  world,  having  an  altitude  of  12,490  feet 


“La  Balsa”  (Straw  Boat),  Lake  Titicaca 


48  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

above  sea  level.  The  water  of  the  lake  is  al- 
ways icy  cold.  There  are  some  fish  in  it 
about  the  size  of  perch,  but  they  are  not  very 
numerous.  Growing  along  the  shore  quite 
plentifully  is  a tall  grass  that  the  Indians  call 
tortori.  They  feed  this  grass  to  their  cattle, 
and  also  make  very  useful  little  boats  from 
it,  tying  it  in  long  bundles,  then  fastening 
these  bundles  together  in  such  a way  as  to 
form  a boat.  The  ropes  with  which  the 
bundles  are  tied  together  are  made  from  the 
tough  mountain  grass.  The  boats  can  be 
made  very  cheaply,  and  prove  serviceable 
indeed  to  the  Indians,  as  they  are  very 
buoyant.  A sail  also  is  made  from  the  same 
material. 


CHAPTER  II 


Inca  Ruins  and  Traditions 

THE  history  of  these  people  is  most 
interesting.  Prescott’s  “History  of 
Peru”  deals  quite  fully  with  it.  Tradi- 
tion declares  that  the  sun,  taking  pity  upon 
the  people  in  that  highland  region,  sent  his 
two  children,  Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Occlo, 
son  and  daughter,  husband  and  wife,  to  found 
an  empire  fur  them.  They  took  with  them  a 
golden  wedge;  and  where  this  golden  wedge 
would  of  itself  sink  into  the  ground  and  dis- 
appear from  sight,  they  were  to  found  the 
empire.  As  the  two  children  were  making 
their  way  through  that  mountain  region,  they 
tried  the  wedge  at  different  places.  Finally 
they  arrived  at  Cuzco,  and  there  the  wedge 
sank  from  sight  forever.  Hence  the  Inca  em- 
pire was  founded  at  that  place. 

Manco  Capac  immediately  set  about  in- 
structing the  men  in  the  science  of  agriculture, 
while  Mama  Occlo  took  in  hand  the  women, 
instructing  them  in  the  arts  of  spinning  and 
weaving.  Gaining  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  they  amalgamated  the  many  different 
tribes  into  one  great  Inca  empire. 


4 


(49) 


■> 


An  Archway  in  Cuzco 


Representing  the  More  Modern  Style  of  Stonework 
The  statue  of  a priest  at  the  top  indicates  the  domi- 
nation of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

(50) 


INCA  RUINS  AND  TRADITIONS  51 

In  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  in  the 
highland  region  round  about,  are  some  exten- 
sive and  remarkable  ruins  of  temples,  which 
are  the  remnant  of  the  historic  civilization 
that  thrived  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.  The 
stones  used  in  the  building  of  these  temples 
are  of  enormous  size,  some  of  them  weighing 
hundreds  of  tons  each;  and  the  marvel  is, 
how  the  people  were  able  to  transport  them 
from  the  distant  quarries,  up  high  mountain 
sides,  down  great  canons,  and  across  rivers. 

The  walls  of  some  of  these  Inca  temples 
and  fortresses  are  beautifully  made.  The 
stones  exactly  fit  one  another,  no  mortar  or 
cement  having  been  used  to  fasten  them  to- 
gether. They  are  joined  so  nicely  that  one 
cannot  insert  the  blade  of  a penknife  between 
the  edges  of  the  stones,  or  even  a needle  at 
the  corners  of  them.  They  are  cut  in  many 
different  shapes;  and  how  the  people  could 
have  hewed  these  massive  stones  with  such  ex- 
actness, supposedly  having  to  move  them 
about  repeatedly  to  fit  them  together,  is  an 
unsolved  mystery. 

Here  and  there  among  these  ruins  are  great 
carved  idols,  many  of  them  of  gigantic  size, 
giving  us  an  idea  of  what  the  religion  of  the 


A Wall  of  Coricancha,  Joints  in  Masonry  Almost 
Invisible 


(52) 


INCA  RUINS  AND  TRADITIONS  53 

people  must  have  been.  They  worshiped  the 
sun  and  the  forces  and  objects  of  nature. 
Even  to-day  some  of  the  Indians  worship  the 
sun,  and  many  worship  the  earth. 

These  Indians  live  in  small  mud  huts,  about 
twelve  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide,  thatched 
with  straw,  without  any  windows,  and  with 
but  a small  opening  for  a door  — so  small  that 
only  with  difficulty  can  one  get  through. 
They  have  earthen  floors,  and  no  furniture  of 
any  kind.  Their  clothes  are  hung  on  ropes 
and  poles  placed  across  the  hut.  On  one  side 
of  the  hut,  the  floor  is  elevated  a little,  and 
used  for  a bed. 

\ 

The  Indians  spin  and  weave  all  their 
clothes.  Those  of  a man  usually  consist  of  a 
shirt,  a pair  of  trousers,  which  are  slit  up  from 
the  ankle  to  the  knee  in  the  back  to  facilitate 
his  wading  the  numerous  small  mountain 
rivers,  and  a poncho,  which  is  simply  a large 
blanket,  with  a hole  cut  in  the  middle,  through 
which  he  slips  his  head,  the  blanket  falling 
over  his  shoulders.  These  ponchos  generally 
are  highly  colored.  To  complete  his  costume, 
the  Indian  wears  a small  wool  cap,  with  ear- 
laps  that  he  pulls  tightly  over  his  head,  and 


54  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

on  top  of  this,  a large,  thick  felt  hat,  which 
also  the  Indians  themselves  manufacture. 

The  clothes  of  the  women  consist  of  skirts 
made  of  wool,  and  a waist  of  the  same  ma- 
terial. On  any  special  occasion,  a woman  puts 
on  ten  or  twelve  of  these  heavy  skirts  of  dif- 
ferent colors,  one  skirt  being  tied  just  a little 
higher  than  the  preceding  one,  so  as  to  show 
the  color  of  the  one  beneath.  The  women 
wear  hats  that  they  themselves  have  devised. 
The  framework  is  made  of  tough  mountain 
grass,  covered  with  navy  blue  cloth,  and  the 
rim  is  faced  with  red  cloth.  Underneath  the 
hat  is  worn  a light  shawl  of  some  colored 
material. 

The  diet  of  the  Indians  is  rather  monoto- 
nous. As  no  fruit  grows  in  these  high  alti- 
tudes, the  people  live  mostly  on  mutton, 
barley,  potatoes,  quinoa  (a  small  grain  of 
which  they  make  porridge),  and  most  im- 
portant of  all,  chunas , which  are  used  exten- 
sively by  all  the  Indians  of  the  high  plateaus. 
Chunas  are  simply  potatoes  treated  in  a 
special  way.  After  the  harvest  in  the  autumn, 
the  potatoes  are  spread  out  on  the  plains,  and 
left  to  freeze  for  about  ten  days.  After  that, 
they  are  thawed  out,  and  then  the  Indian  goes 


(55) 


Indian  Woman  Weaving  Ponchos 


56  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

out  with  his  family,  and  they  stamp  upon  the 
potatoes  with  their  bare  feet.  When  the 
water  has  all  been  thoroughly  stamped  out, 
they  are  removed  to  a dry  place,  and  permit- 
ted to  dry  for  about  a week.  After  this  proc- 
ess, the  potatoes  are  called  chunas.  About 
six  bushels  of  potatoes  make  one  bushel  of 
chunas.  These  are  one  of  the  staple  articles 
of  diet  for  the  Indians,  and  are  carried  on 
long  journeys,  being  of  very  light  weight. 
They  are  also  used  in  soups,  and  in  every 
part  of  their  diet,  even  flour  being  made  of 
them.  In  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  find 
out,  they  are  wholesome. 

The  majority  of  these  Indians  have  little 
pieces  of  land  they  cultivate;  and  each  family 
owns  ten  or  fifteen  sheep,  which  furnish  them 
with  meat  to  eat  and  wool  for  their  clothing; 
and  some  of  them  own  a cow  or  two.  But 
the  Indians  that  live  in  an  altitude  of  over 
13,000  feet  do  not  cultivate  their  land,  as 
nothing  grows  on  these  high  ranges  except  a 
tough,  yellow  grass.  These  Indians  have 
large  herds  of  alpacas  and  llamas,  from  which 
they  cut  the  wool,  taking  it  to  the  lower  alti- 
tudes to  trade  for  foodstuffs. 


(57) 


Harvesting  the  Wool  Crop  from  Alpacas 


58  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

There  are  two  tribes  of  these  Indians,  the 
Quichuas  and  the  Aymaras.  The  Quichuas 
are  far  in  the  majority,  there  being  fully  six 
million  of  them  in  the  three  republics  of  Bo- 
livia, Ecuador,  and  Peru.  There  are  about 
five  hundred  thousand  of  the  Aymaras  in 
Peru  and  Bolivia.  It  is  thought  by  some  that 
the  Aymaras  are  descendants  of  the  Pre-Inca 
people,  or  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  the 
Megalithic  or  “Big  Stone”  people,  and  the 
Quichuas,  of  the  Incas. 

These  Indian  languages  are  not  easy  to 
acquire.  They  are  made  up  of  many  gut- 
tural sounds  and  clicks,  and  contain  difficult 
combinations  of  consonants  in  the  verbs.  The 
words  nearly  all  end  in  vowels,  and  nearly 
all  are  accented  on  the  syllable  next  to  the 
last.  In  its  use  of  adjectives,  and  its  facility 
for  forming  compound  nouns,  using  the  first 
noun  adjectively,  the  language  resembles 
English.  Instead  of  prepositions,  it  has  suf- 
fixes appended  to  the  nouns  and  the  pro- 
nouns, as  in  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  words.  The 
grammatical  principles  of  the  Aymara  and  the 
Quichua  are  practically  the  same,  although 
the  vocabularies  differ  greatly. 


INCA  RUINS  AND  TRADITIONS  59 

A voyage  of  ten  hours  took  us  across  the 
lake  to  the  Bolivian  side;  and  leaving  our 
little  steamer,  we  boarded  a train  that  was  in 
waiting  to  take  us  to  La  Paz,  the  largest 
city  in  the  republic.  After  a few  hours’  ride 
over  a great  barren  plain,  our  train  stopped 
at  “The  Alto,”  and  our  locomotive  was  un- 
coupled for  an  electric  motor,  which  was  to 
take  us  down  into  La  Paz.  As  we  made  the 
descent,  a most  wonderful  view  met  our  gaze. 
“A  city  in  a kettle,”  La  Paz  is  called.  With 
its  many  colored  roofs,  situated  at  the  head  of 
a great  cafton,  bounded  on  three  sides  by 
majestic  walls  several  thousand  feet  high,  it 
makes  a picturesque  sight  indeed. 

Our  electric  train  wound  its  way  around 
and  around  down  the  mountain  side,  taking 
forty  minutes  to  make  the  descent.  At  the 
station,  we  saw  a unique  and  interesting  spec- 
tacle,— the  Spanish  people,  dressed  in  their 
somber  black;  the  cholos , or  mixed  people, 
their  women  in  very  short  dresses,  with  a 
great  show  of  lace  extending  below,  with  their 
high-topped  and  high-heeled  shoes,  and  their 
white  Panama  hats ; and  the  hundreds  of 
Indians,  copper-colored,  with  black  eyes  and 
straight  black  hair,  and  wearing  a profusion 


60 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


of  colors.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  no 
other  city  in  all  the  world  has  such  a show  of 
colors  as  may  be  seen  among  the  people  of 
La  Paz. 

We  engaged  rooms,  and  took  our  baggage 
at  once  from  the  station.  There  were  no 
drays  nor  express  wagons.  Everything  had 
to  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  the  Indians,  and 
really  they  are  very  efficient.  An  Indian  will 
tie  upon  his  back  a large  trunk  weighing  two 
hundred  pounds,  take  a valise  in  each  hand, 
and  walk  thus  for  miles. 

As  we  were  walking  to  our  place  of  lodg- 
ing, I found  myself  coming  into  collision  with 
persons  I met.  It  is  the  custom  here,  as  in 
some  European  countries,  to  turn  to  the  left 
on  meeting  a person,  instead  of  to  the  right, 
as  we  do  in  the  United  States.  It  was  a few 
days  before  I could  accustom  myself  to  this 
difference.  Another  peculiar  usage  here  is 
that  of  waving  the  hand  away  from  the  body 
instead  of  toward  it,  in  beckoning  to  a person. 
But  we  soon  become  accustomed  to  these 
changes. 

Of  the  eighty  thousand  inhabitants  of  La 
Paz,  sixty  thousand  are  Indians,  fifteen  thou- 
sand are  cholos , or  the  mixed  class,  and  five 


A Cholo  Woman  and  Child 


v. 


(61) 


62  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

thousand  are  Spanish.  The  Spanish  people 
make  up  the  highest  class,  as  doctors,  lawyers, 
and  officials,  and  are  very  well-to-do.  The 
cholos  are  largely  artisans,  and  could  well  be 
called  the  middle  class;  while  the  Indians  are 
the  laborers  and  the  roustabouts, — the  poor- 
est class. 

Neither  the  Spanish  nor  the  cholo  people 
are  ever  seen  carrying  any  bundles,  no  matter 
how  small.  When  they  go  out  shopping,  they 
have  Indians  following  along  behind  them  to 
carry  whatever  they  may  purchase.  These 
Indians  are  the  servants,  and  do  all  the  cook- 
ing and  the  general  housework. 

Our  greatest  ambition  now  was  to  learn  the 
language  of  the  people.  I was  soon  able  to 
speak  a few  words  in  Spanish  quite  well  — so 
well,  in  fact,  that  the  people  I addressed  did 
not  guess  the  limitations  of  my  vocabulary, 
and  sometimes  proceeded  to  talk  to  me  very 
sociably,  though  I had  little  idea  of  what  they 
were  saying.  This  made  me  feel  uncomfort- 
able, and  I longed  for  the  day  when  I could 
talk  to  the  peoplfe  and  understand  them. 

It  was  decided  that  while  Pastor  Thomann 
was  with  me,  we  should  go  to  Cochabamba,  an 
interior  city  of  Bolivia,  to  become  acquainted 


INCA  RUINS  AND  TRADITIONS  63 

. ....  w lOPiVMp 

with  the  conditions  there.  So  after  only  a 
week’s  stay  at  La  Paz,  leaving  my  wife, 
daughter,  and  little  son  there,  we  started  out 
to  visit  Cochabamba.  We  took  a train  to 
Oruro,  a city  located  out  on  the  barren  plain 
of  the  mountains,  without  any  protection 
whatsoever.  Here  we  made  arrangements  for 
another  two  days’  journey  by  coach  to  Cocha- 
bamba. Early  the  next  morning,  we  started 
on  our  journey.  The  weather  was  bitterly 
cold,  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a gale.  We 
had  just  seated  ourselves  in  the  large  coach, 
when  the  driver,  a half-breed,  gave  a savage 
yell,  and  the  eight  mules  bounded  off  at  a 
most  furious  rate,  the  driver  whipping  them 
unmercifully  all  the  while.  I could  not  en- 
dure seeing  him  whip  the  poor  animals  in  this 
fashion,  and  leaned  over  the  seat  to  ask  him 
why  he  did  so  when  they  were  going  as  fast 
as  they  possibly  could.  He  made  no  answer. 
As  we  dashed  over  the  plain,  the  driver  still 
whipping  the  mules,  I saw  blood  starting 
from  their  flanks.  I shook  him  roughly,  and 
told  him  he  would  have  to  stop  beating  those 
mules.  He  seemed  very  much  surprised  that 
any  one  should  try  to  prevent  him  from 


pounding  the  mules;  but  as  what  I said  was 
translated  to  him,  he  desisted  somewhat. 

After  a few  hours,  we  left  the  plain,  and 
started  down  the  mountain  side,  at  times  pass- 
ing along  a narrow  ledge  and  curving  around 
the  mountain,  all  the  while  going  as  fast  as 
the  mules  could  gallop.  Sometimes  the  heavy 
wheels  of  the  coach  would  strike  large  stones 
in  the  road,  that  would  send  us  bounding  off 
our  seat,  our  heads  often  striking  on  the  ceil- 
ing of  the  coach.  It  was  all  new  to  me,,  and 
Pastor  Thomann  had  many  a good  laugh  at 
me  as  we  went  along.  I queried  whether  the 
city  we  were  going  to  had  been  named  Cocha- 
bamba because  of  the  banging  of  the  coach  on 
the  way.  Every  two  hours  and  a half,  the 
mules  were  changed  for  fresh  animals,  and  the 
driver  wrould  take  a large  glass  of  beer,  and 
away  we  would  go  again  at  breakneck  speed 
along  the  mountain  side,  or  following  the 
river  bed. 

The  second  evening,  we  pulled  into  Cocha- 
bamba. After  securing  lodging,  we  at  once 
sought  our  beds,  as  we  were  very  tired ; but  to 
my  surprise,  I passed  a very  restless  night. 
Early  in  the  morning,  I found  out  why.  I 
discovered  that  my  hands  and  face  were  cov- 


5 


(65) 


A Mountain  Coach 


66  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

ered  with  great  welts,  and  I asked  the  Indian 
servant  what  was  the  cause  of  these.  He 
beckoned  me  to  the  wall  on  one  side  of  the 
room,  and  pointed  into  the  large  crevices, 
making  me  understand  that  the  red  bugs  I 
saw  there  were  what  had  been  disturbing  my 
sleep,  and  were  the  cause  of  these  welts  on  my 
hands  and  face.  They  were  horrible  looking 
objects,  some  of  them  as  large  as  my  thumb, 
a sword-like  beak  over  a quarter  of  an  inch 
long  protruding  from  their  heads,  and  their 
great  red  bodies  swollen  with  the  blood  they 
had  taken  from  me.  The  Indian  called  them 
pinchugas.  He  said  that  their  bite  was  poi- 
sonous, and  that  I should  use  some  medicine 
to  wash  with.  This  I did,  and  felt  somewhat 
relieved.  We  stayed  long  enough  for  me  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  people  at  Cocha- 
bamba with  whom  my  predecessor  had  worked 
in  evangelistic  lines. 

The  thing  that  impressed  me  most  in  this 
place  was  the  many  hundreds  of  priests  walk- 
ing up  and  down  the  streets,  and  the  homage 
the  people  offered  them,  many  kneeling  be- 
fore them  and  kissing  their  hands  as  they  went 
along  the  streets.  There  are  thousands  of 
Quichua  Indians  in  this  province;  and  on 


INCA  RUINS  AND  TRADITIONS 


67 


market  days,  Thursdays  and  Sundays,  many 
come  into  the  city  to  sell  their  wares.  I would 
have  liked  to  stay  longer  at  this  place,  to 
study  the  people,  but  could  not  do  so  on  this 
occasion.  After  a few  days,  we  tried  to  get 
seats  in  the  coach  to  return  to  Oruro ; but  this 
was  impossible,  all  the  seats  having  been  en- 
gaged for  weeks  ahead.  The  best  we  could  do 
was  to  ride  on  top  of  the  baggage  wagon, 
among  boxes  and  bundles;  but  as  the  mules 
galloped  along  the  uneven  road,  we  had  all 
we  could  do  to  keep  from  being  jolted  off. 
We  were  completely  covered  with  dust  and 
dirt,  and  I was  sincerely  glad  when  we  could 
bid  good-by  to  that  conveyance. 

At  Oruro,  Pastor  Thomann  left  me  to  con- 
tinue  my  journey  alone  to  La  Paz,  and  he 
went  to  his  own  field  of  labor  in  Chile.  I felt 
very  lonely  when  we  separated,  as  he  had  been 
a good  companion,  and  was  also  a great  help 
to  me  because  of  his  knowledge  of  Spanish. 

On  returning  to  La  Paz,  I found  that  both 
my  wife  and  my  daughter  had  suffered  a very 
severe  illness,  having  had  mountain  fever. 
It  was  some  time  before  my  wife  became  ac- 
customed to  the  high  altitude  and  the  rigorous 
mountain  climate. 


CHAPTER  III 


A Prunitive  People 

WHILE  studying  the  language,  we 
visited  among  the  people,  and  sold 
Bibles  and  other  religious  books,  by 
this  latter  means  meeting  many  of  the  ex- 
penses of  our  missionary  work. 

We  were  mostly  interested  in  the  Indians, 
and  after  a few  months,  moved  into  a great 
Indian  neighborhood  called  Challyapampa,  in 
the  suburbs  of  La  Paz.  We  opened  a free 
dispensary  there,  and  tried  to  help  the  Indians 
in  every  way,  but  we  found  them  very  con- 
servative. Spanish  women  used  to  stand  at 
our  gate,  and  forbid  the  Indians  to  come  to  us. 
They  called  us  offensive  names,  and  told  the 
Indians  that  we  were  very  bad  people.  We 
could  not  defend  ourselves  very  well,  because 
we  could  not  speak  the  language. 

I determined  that  while  I was  studying  the 
language,  I would  visit  the  Indians  in  the 
great  tropical  region  of  Bolivia.  So  I bought 
a saddle  horse  and  two  pack  mules,  and  made 
four  strong  boxes,  which  I filled  with  Bibles, 
other  books,  and  magazines;  and  one  morn- 
(68) 


(69) 


Indians  of  South  America 


70  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

in g at  two  o’clock,  I started  out  to  visit  this 
great  forest  region  of  Bolivia.  My  first  day’s 
journey  took  me  over  the  high,  barren  moun- 
tains; and  that  evening,  I reached  Pongo, 
some  thirty-five  miles  distant  from  La  Paz. 
I was  very  tired,  not  being  accustomed  to 
horseback  riding. 

Pongo  is  an  Indian  name  which  means 
door.  At  this  place,  there  was  a tarnbo,  or 
hotel,  where  travelers  could  stay  for  the  night. 
It  consisted  of  several  low  structures  built  of 
mud  and  thatched  with  straw,  and  divided 
into  four  rooms  about  ten  by  ten  feet  in  size. 
In  each  room  was  a wooden  bench,  which  the 
proprietor  called  a bed,  but  no  bedding  what- 
ever. The  earthen  floor  was  bare,  and  there 
were  no  windows,  and  there  was  only  a small 
opening  for  a door.  There  were  several  large 
yards,  or  corrals,  about  thirty  by  forty  feet  in 
size,  with  high  walls  around  them,  in  which 
horses  and  mules  were  kept. 

The  meals  consisted  of  about  three  courses, 
each  successive  one  being  more  peppery 
than  the  preceding,  and  necessitating  large 
draughts  of  water  to  put  out  the  fire  the  food 
seemed  to  kindle  in  the  stomach. 


A PRIMITIVE  PEOPLE 


71 


All  together,  the  hotels  in  these  countries 
are  very  uninviting.  I came  to  prefer  sleep- 
ing out  on  the  open  plain,  bringing  my  own 
food  with  me,  if  possible,  and  thus  avoiding 
these  dreary  places. 

The  next  day,  I got  another  early  start. 
In  a short  time,  the  road  descended  so  rapidly 
that  my  horse  was  compelled  to  slide  two  and 
three  feet  at  a time.  The  way  now  led 
through  a heavy  forest,  and  the  Indians  I met 
stopped  and  eyed  me  as  far  as  they  could  see 
me,  evidently  surprised  at  my  being  alone. 
People  said  it  was  dangerous  for  me  to  make 
the  trip  thus ; but  I had  no  one  to  go  with  me. 
My  Spanish  teacher  had  prevailed  upon  me  to 
take  his  rifle,  telling  me  that  the  mere  fact  of 
my  having  it  in  sight  would  afford  more 
safety,  as  there  were  robbers  in  those  regions. 

Toward  evening,  the  air  became  a great 
deal  warmer,  as  I reached  a much  lower  alti- 
tude. I began  looking  for  a place  where  I 
could  stop  for  the  night,  hoping  to  be  able  to 
retire  early,  as  I was  very  tired  from  riding 
and  walking  alternately  over  the  rough  roads. 

About  five-thirty  in  the  afternoon,  I came 
to  a large  house,  where  I asked,  in  my  broken 
Spanish,  if  I could  stay  overnight.  The  man 


72  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

with  whom  I spoke  said  he  had  no  place  for 
me,  but  that  I would  find  one  a little  farther 
along  the  road.  I kept  on  for  several  hours, 
but  found  no  place  to  stay,  and  it  became  very 
difficult  to  keep  the  way  in  the  darkness.  I 
had  just  about  made  up  my  mind  to  stop  on 
the  road  for  the  night,  when  I heard  some  one 
coming  toward  me,  and  called  out  to  inquire 
if  he  knew  where  I could  get  feed  for  my 
animals  and  a place  to  sleep.  An  Indian  an- 
swered in  his  own  language.  I did  not  under- 
stand what  he  said,  but  I quickly  followed 
him.  He  led  the  way  into  an  opening  through 
the  forest,  off  the  road;  and  in  a few  moments, 
we  came  to  a fire  around  which  some  Indians 
were  sitting.  I made  them  understand  that  I 
wanted  feed  for  my  horse  and  mules,  and  they 
gave  me  some.  Then  I asked  for  food  for 
myself,  and  offered  money  in  payment  for  it; 
but  they  refused  the  money,  telling  me  they 
hardly  had  food  for  themselves. 

I seated  myself  near  them,  and  taking  up  a 
little  Indian  child  about  two  years  old,  started 
to  pet  it  and  talk  to  it,  and  gave  it  a few 
trinkets  that  I had.  This  seemed  to  please  the 
Indians  immensely,  and  one  of  them  immedi- 
ately arose  and  brought  me  some  food.  After- 


An  Ordinary  Peruvian  Road 


(73) 


74  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

ward  I gave  them  several  pamphlets  with 
pictures  on  the  covers,  and  they  appeared  to 
be  very  much  interested  in  these  pictures. 
Soon  I was  rolled  up  in  my  blanket,  fast 
asleep. 

The  next  morning,  I awoke  early.  The 
Indians  helped  me  to  put  my  boxes  on  the 
mules  again,  and  I continued  on  my  way. 
The  road  was  rougher  than  ever.  About 
noon,  I came  to  a place  unusually  narrow  and 
steep,  leading  along  the  face  of  a great  cliff. 
There  was  a precipice  hundreds  of  feet  deep 
on  one  side,  and  a wall  of  solid  rock  on  the 
other. 

As  I was  going  up  this  steep  trail,  I 
noticed  that  on  ahead,  a great  stone  had  been 
washed  out,  leaving  a perpendicular  rise  of 
about  three  feet  in  the  narrow  trail.  For  a 
moment,  I was  dismayed,  and  wanted  to  turn 
back.  But  I could  not  do  so,  because  of  the 
narrowness  of  the  way;  so  I had  to  go  on.  I 
called  loudly  to  the  leading  mule,  and  he 
jumped  up  the  ascent,  as  also  did  my  saddle 
horse;  but  the  last  animal,  which  was  loaded 
heavily  with  books,  did  not  succeed,  and 
started  to  fall  over  backward.  I gave  a des- 
perate pull  at  the  rope  on  the  side  of  his  head; 


A PRIMITIVE  PEOPLE  75 

and  he  seemed  to  receive  a push  from  unseen 
hands,  for  he  recovered  his  balance,  and 
cleared  the  awful  place. 

When  I told  some  of  the  people  in  the  next 
town,  about  that  experience,  they  said:  “We 
know  the  place.  The  hand  of  Providence 
was  surely  with  you.”  And  I know  it  was. 

About  three  o’clock  that  afternoon,  I came 
to  a small  house  by  the  roadside;  and  I asked 
an  Indian  who  was  standing  near,  if  he  would 
sell  me  some  oranges.  I gave  him  five  cents, 
and  he  immediately  left  me.  He  was  gone 
fully  half  an  hour,  and  I almost  gave  up  his 
returning;  but  just  as  I was  about  to  start  on 
my  way  again,  I saw  him  coming,  struggling 
along  under  a great  gunny  sack  filled  with 
oranges.  He  had  brought  me  fully  a hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  of  oranges  for  the  five 
cents.  I was  amazed.  I took  all  that  I could 
carry  in  my  saddlebags  and  pockets,  and  told 
him  to  keep  the  rest.  I did  not  understand 
his  generosity,  until  I had  gone  about  a half 
mile  farther  down  the  road.  There  the 
branches  of  the  orange  trees  hung  above  my 
head,  laden  with  fruit,  which  I could  have 
picked  easily  while  going  along  on  horseback. 


76 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


I reached  the  town  of  Corroico  in  the  eve- 
ning, and  I determined  to  stay  in  this  place  for 
a few  days.  I put  my  horse  and  mules  into  a 
pasture  for  a rest,  and  started  out  the  next 
day  to  sell  Bibles  and  magazines.  The  first 
man  I met  was  the  priest  of  the  town;  and 
when  I showed  him  our  books  and  magazines, 
he  asked  what  denomination  I represented.  I 
answered,  “The  Seventh-day  Adventist.” 

“Seventh-day  Adventist!”  he  said.  “What 
does  that  mean?” 

I told  him  “Seventh-day”  means  that  we 
keep  the  seventh  day,  the  Bible  Sabbath, 
which  has  existed  from  the  time  when  the 
Lord  created  the  earth;  and  that  as  Advent- 
ists, we  believe  in  the  second  coming  of 
Christ. 

“Oh,”  he  said,  “that’s  it,  huh?  Well,  that 
isn’t  so  very  much  different  from  what  we 
believe.  Although  we  do  not  keep  the  seventh 
day,  we  believe  in  it  just  the  same.”  He  put 
his  name  down  on  my  list.  I then  started  out 
to  visit  the  other  people  of  this  village.  As 
I showed  them  our  papers  and  books,  they 
would  shake  their  heads,  and  say  they  did  not 
want  them.  Then  I would  show  them  the 
signature  of  the  priest,  and  tell  them  how  he 


Indian  of  the  Tropics  of  the  Yungas  of  Bolivia 

(77) 


78  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

had  recommended  the  publications,  and  al- 
most every  one  would  buy.  I sold,  in  a few 
hours,  over  fifty  magazines,  and  a number  of 
Bibles  and  other  books. 

After  a few  days,  I continued  my  journey 
into  the  interior  of  the  great  Yungas  region. 
My  next  stop  would  be  Coripata,  the  village 
farthest  in  the  interior.  The  Indians  of  this 
section  all  wear  their  hair  in  one  long  braid 
hanging  down  the  back.  They  are  of  slen- 
derer build  than  the  Indians  of  the  high  pla- 
teaus, and  have  slanting  eyes,  thin  faces,  and 
high  cheek  bones.  They  wear  short  knee 
breeches,  and  very  small  hats.  They  seem 
to  be  very  ignorant,  none  of  them  speaking 
Spanish,  and  most  of  them  being  addicted  to 
the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks.  I found  that  they 
were  employed  for  the  most  part  upon  the 
large  plantations  of  the  Spaniards,  working 
three  days  each  week  for  the  patron , as  they 
call  the  landlord,  for  the  privilege  of  living 
upon  a small  plot  of  ground,  which  they  can 
work  for  themselves  the  remaining  part  of 
the  week. 

After  having  gone  about  fifteen  miles,  I 
met  a very  rough-looking  man  mounted  on  a 
mule.  As  he  passed  me,  he  said,  in  Spanish, 


A PRIMITIVE  PEOPLE 


79 


“Guarde  de  los  fangos  ” I did  not  know  the 
meaning  of  the  word  fangos;  but  because  of 
the  man’s  serious  tone,  I expected  to  en- 
counter nothing  less  than  a tiger  or  a boa 
constrictor.  I thanked  him,  unslung  the  rifle 
my  Spanish  teacher  had  lent  me,  saw  that  it 
was  in  good  working  order,  and  made  my  way 
forward.  I had  gone  about  a quarter  of  a 
mile  when  I came  upon  — not  a tiger  nor  a 
boa  constrictor,  but  a place  where  a landslide 
had  occurred,  obliterating  a section  of  the 
road  for  almost  its  entire  width.  The  narrow 
path  that  remained  was  very  steep,  and  the 
soft  mud  added  to  the  danger  of  slipping 
down  the  mountain  side.  I knew  now  what 
fango  was,  and  I have  never  forgotten 
it  — mud! 

I dismounted  and  waded  carefully  across 
the  dangerous  place,  about  thirty  feet  wide. 
I then  got  a mule  across.  He  stumbled 
through  all  right.  Next  came  my  saddle 
horse  and  the  other  mule.  In  a few  minutes, 
we  were  all  safely  across.  After  I had 
scraped  most  of  the  mud  off,  I continued  my 
journey,  reaching  Coripata  that  evening  just 
before  dusk,  without  any  further  mishaps.  I 
asked  several  persons  if  there  was  a place  for 


80  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

travelers  to  stay  overnight ; but  they  answered 
very  surlily,  “No.”  I tried  to  get  food  for 
my  beasts,  but  did  not  succeed,  so  went  to  the 
main  plaza,  and  prepared  to  spend  the  night 
there. 

Just  then  an  Indian  came  running  to  me 
with  a letter,  which  I found  to  be  an  invita- 
tion to  spend  the  night  at  the  home  of  the 
man  who  wrote  it.  I immediately  followed 
the  Indian,  and  he  led  me  to  a beautiful  place 
near  the  village.  The  family  were  very 
friendly;  and  the  man  proved  to  be  a senator 
from  La  Paz,  who  was  spending  a few  months 
here  at  his  summer  home.  He  appeared  to  be 
much  interested  as  I explained  to  him  our 
mission  to  that  country,  and  what  we  were 
endeavoring  to  do  for  the  people,  especially 
the  Indians. 

In  the  morning,  my  host  offered  me  a guide 
as  far  as  the  river.  I was  afterward  glad  I 
accepted,  because  we  had  not  gone  far  when 
the  trail  became  very  uncertain,  and  it  grew 
more  and  more  indistinct  as  we  proceeded. 
After  a few  hours,  we  came  to  a large  river. 
My  guide  pointed  out  the  place  to  land  on  the 
other  side,  and  left  me.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  I was  able  to  ford  this  river,  as  the  cur- 


A Natural  Cut 


« 


(81) 


82  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

rent  was  strong,  and  the  water  was  deep  in 
places.  I crossed  safely,  however,  but  found 
that  the  trail  was  hardly  visible  on  the  other 
side,  because  of  the  thick  underbrush.  I was 
afraid  of  losing  my  way  altogether ; and  to  be 
lost  in  these  thick  forests  would  be  a danger- 
ous situation.  I prayed  that  God  would  keep 
me  on  the  right  way,  then  I let  one  of  my 
mules  go  ahead.  Many  a time  that  day,  this 
leading  mule  would  take  a course  that  I felt 
sure  was  wrong.  I would  try  to  stop  him  to 
turn  him  back,  but  could  not  catch  up  with 
him,  so  had  to  follow  on  after  him.  At  times, 
deer  would  spring  into  view.  It  was  an  al- 
together wild  country. 

Late  that  afternoon,  to  my  delight,  I came 
to  an  open  place  where  there  was  a village.  I 
made  arrangements  to  stay  with  the  man  who 
kept  the  general  merchandise  store  of  the 
place.  His  son  could  speak  English,  having 
been  in  the  United  States  for  five  years. 
They  were  very  amiable. 

The  next  day,  I started  out  to  sell  books 
and  magazines,  and  was  so  successful  that  I 
sold  nearly  all  I had  brought  with  me.  That 
evening,  however,  people  began  to  come  to 
me  and  demand  the  return  of  their  money, 


A PRIMITIVE  PEOPLE 


83 


saying  that  the  priest  had  told  them  the  books 
were  very  bad.  I asked  what  there  was  that 
was  bad  in  the  books,  and  I refused  to  re- 
turn the  money,  telling  the  people  they  would 
be  very  glad  afterward  to  have  those  books. 
While  some  left,  others  came,  and  soon  groups 
were  standing  out  in  the  street  threatening 
me.  I concluded  that  the  best  thing  for  me  to 
do  was  to  leave  that  place  as  soon  as  possible. 
I settled  with  my  host  before  retiring,  and 
told  him  I was  going  to  leave  very  early  the 
next  morning. 

I was  up  at  two  o’clock,  and  started  off 
before  three;  but  early  as  it  was,  people  had 
already  gathered  on  the  plaza,  and  were  talk- 
ing excitedly.  I paid  no  attention  to  them, 
however,  but  kept  on  my  way.  As  I reached 
the  outskirts  of  the  town,  I heard  a loud 
calling.  I felt  sure  that  the  people  were  com- 
ing out  after  me,  so  I did  not  turn  around, 
but  continued  on  at  an  even  pace.  The  call- 
ing became  louder  and  louder,  and  finally  I 
turned  about.  Then  a man  dashed  up  and 
told  me  that  I was  taking  the  wrong  road  to 
La  Paz.  I felt  relieved,  and  thanked  the  man 
most  heartily,  and  turned  and  went  the  road 


84  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

he  directed  me  to  take,  which  proved  to  be  the 
right  one. 

That  night,  I stopped  at  a place  called 
Yauacacha,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  places 
I saw  in  the  whole  Yungas  region,  or  during 
the  entire  trip.  I was  much  impressed  with 
the  great  possibilities  for  the  Indians  here, 
who  seemed  to  be  more  intelligent  than  those 
I had  seen  elsewhere;  and  I felt  that  for  us 
to  open  an  industrial  Indian  school  at  this 
place,  if  we  could,  would  be  a wise  move. 
I sold  all  the  papers  and  books  I had ; and  the 
following  day,  I continued  my  way  back  to 
the  city  of  La  Paz,  which  I reached  in  a 
few  days. 

I had  improved  considerably  in  my  knowl- 
edge of  the  Spanish  language,  and  had  more 
courage  to  work  in  behalf  of  the  people.  I 
could  even  speak  a few  words  of  the  Indian 
language,  and  immediately  I renewed  my 
efforts  for  the  Indians  that  lived  about  us. 
We  visited  from  house  to  house,  offering  help 
where  there  was  sickness. 

Connected  with  our  cottage,  we  had  about 
an  acre  of  ground,  which  we  had  planted  to 
barley  for  .use  as  horse  feed.  It  sprouted 
nicely,  but  we  found  difficulty  in  getting 


A PRIMITIVE  PEOPLE 


85 


water  to  irrigate  it;  for  as  soon  as  we  would 
turn  the  water  on,  the  Indians  would  turn 
it  from  its  course  again.  We  finally  gave  up 
the  attempt. 

About  this  time,  a chief  living  in  the  neigh- 
borhood sent  for  us  to  treat  him,  as  he  was 
very  ill  of  fever.  I nursed  him  day  after  day 
for  several  weeks,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  him  get  well.  One  day,  soon  after 
his  recovery,  I saw  water  coming  down  toward 
us;  and  thereafter  it  continued  to  come  until 
we  were  almost  flooded,  and  I had  to  beg  the 
Indians  to  shut  it  off. 

Mrs.  Stahl  devoted  a great  deal  of  her  time 
to  the  Indian  women  and  children,  also  nurs- 
ing in  the  homes  of  the  best  people  of  Bolivia 
and  Peru.  She  went  from  the  hovels  of  the 
Indians  to  the  palaces  of  the  rich,  thus  gain- 
ing for  us  many  powerful  friends  among  peo- 
ple of  influence,  who  afterward  favored  us  in 
our  work  for  the  Indians. 

Our  daughter,  Frenita,  who  was  sixteen 
years  old  at  this  time,  and  of  a very  cheery 
disposition,  did  much  to  break  down  the 
prejudice  of  the  Indians.  She  visited  their 
homes,  and  took  a special  interest  in  their 
little  children,  often  bringing  them  home  with 


86  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

her,  and  giving  them  dainties,  thus  winning 
their  friendship  and  good  will.  Many  a time 
she  would  say  to  her  mother,  “Wouldn’t  it  be 
a pretty  child  if  it  were  clean?”  Then  she 
would  proceed  to  clean  it  up,  and  prove  her 
opinion  to  be  true.  She  was  a curiosity  to 
the  Indians,  with  her  blond  hair  and  blue  eyes. 
Even  our  little  boy,  Wallace,  found  a place 
in  the  work.  He  quickly  learned  the  Indian 
language,  and  acted  as  interpreter  for  us. 


A Child  of  Peru 


CHAPTER  IV 


Missionary  Mining 

AFTER  we  had  been  in  Bolivia  for  a 
year,  a prominent  American  called 
upon  me,  and  asked  if  I would  go  upon 
a mining  expedition  for  him  into  the  interior 
of  Bolivia.  I told  him  that  I did  not  under- 
stand anything  about  mines,  and  that  I was 
a missionary. 

“Well,”  he  said,  “that  is  just  the  reason 
why  I want  you  to  go,  as  I feel  confident  you 
will  bring  back  the  right  samples  and  a true 
report.”  I asked  him  if  I could  do  mission- 
ary work  for  the  people  on  the  way.  He 
assured  me  that  I could  do  as  I might  choose. 
I then  consented  to  go,  and  he  immediately 
placed  in  my  hands  several  hundred  dollars 
to  fit  out  the  expedition.  He  told  me  to  put 
in  a good  supply  of  food,  as  the  way  was  long, 
and  to  make  myself  as  comfortable  as  I could 
during  the  journey.  I obeyed  him  implicitly 
in  this,  and  bought  a liberal  supply  of  canned 
goods;  so  we  ate  New  York  food  in  the 
jungles  of  Bolivia  on  this  journey.  The 
owner  of  the  mine  which  my  friend  expected 
to  purchase  accompanied  me. 


(87) 


88  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

At  every  stop,  I was  able  to  help  some  sick 
person.  At  noon  of  the  first  Friday,  I be- 
gan to  look  for  a place  to  spend  the  Sab- 
bath. We  went  mile  after  mile  without 
finding  such  a place.  Nothing  but  the  great 
mountain  wilds  greeted  the  eye. 

About  four-thirty  that  afternoon,  we  passed 
an  Indian  hut  in  the  woods,  by  the  side  of  a 
river.  I wanted  to  stop,  but  was  strongly 
advised  by  the  owner  of  the  mine  not  to  do  so. 
He  said  that  these  Indians  were  very  savage, 
and  that  we  were  in  danger  of  being  killed. 
He  said  also  that  there  was  no  food  for  us 
or  the  beasts  at  this  place.  So  we  went  on. 

We  had  not  gone  far  when  we  met  some 
traders  coming  toward  us.  Of  these  we  in- 
quired if  there  was  a place  where  we  could 
stop  farther  down.  They  answered:  “No;  the 
Indians  are  very  savage,  and  will  not  even 
give  you  feed  for  your  beasts,  and  will  not 
permit  you  to  stop  with  them.  You  will  have 
to  keep  on  going  for  another  twelve  hours.” 
The  mine  owner  said,  “I  told  you  so.” 
“Well,”  I replied,  “I  am  going  back  to  that 
Indian  hut  we  passed.” 

“It’s  no  use,”  he  protested. 


MISSIONARY  MINING 


89 


But  I insisted,  so  we  returned.  On  arriv- 
ing, I asked  an  Indian  woman  at  the  door  if 
we  might  stop  at  their  place,  and  if  they 
would  sell  us  feed  for  our  mules. 

“You  may  stop,”  she  said,  “and  we  can  pro- 
vide for  your  mules.” 

While  we  were  unloading  our  goods,  the 
woman  prepared  food  for  us,  and  tried  in 
every  way  to  make  us  comfortable.  The  mine 
owner  was  very  much  surprised.  He  said  he 
had  always  understood  that  the  Indians  on 
this  part  of  the  road  were  savage. 

“The  Lord  has  provided  a place  for  us,”  I 
told  him. 

Sabbath  morning,  the  mine  owner  said, 
“Come,  let  us  be  going.” 

“My  friend,”  I replied,  “you  forget  what 
I told  you  yesterday, — that  we  would  rest 
over  Sabbath.” 

“Well,  then,”  he  said,  “I  will  go  on  alone.” 

“Very  well,”  I answered;  “but  I advise  you 
to  stay  with  me  and  enjoy  a Sabbath 
blessing.” 

“All  right!  I will,”  he  replied. 

I then  told  the  woman  of  the  house  about 
the  Sabbath,  and  asked  if  we  might  stay  un- 
til Sunday  morning. 


90  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

“Indeed  you  may,”  she  said. 

About  ten  that  morning,  the  husband  of  the 
woman  returned,  and  he  as  well  as  his  wife 
tried  to  make  us  feel  at  home.  In  a few 
hours,  other  Indians  had  gathered.  I talked 
to  them  of  God,  what  He  requires  of  us,  and 
of  the  soon  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus;  and  I 
found  willing  listeners  among  them.  At 
times,  tears  forced  a way  down  their  weather- 
beaten cheeks.  Just  as  the  sun  began  to  go 
down  behind  the  mountains,  we  had  a most 
precious  meeting,  and  the  Indians  felt  free 
to  ask  questions.  Even  the  mine  owner  was 
deeply  affected,  and  would  exclaim  every  once 
in  a while:  “What  Indians!  I never  would 
have  believed  it  of  them.” 

N 

Very  early  Sunday  morning  we  continued 
on  our  journey.  The  Indians  made  us  accept 
some  fruit;  and  as  we  were  about  to  start,  the 
one  with  whom  we  had  stayed,  with  his  wife 
and  son,  came  to  me,  and  said:  “Brother,  our 
ears  have  heard  a sweet  message.  Our  hearts 
are  full.  We  are  glad  to  hear  that  Jesus  is 
coming  soon;  and  from  this  time,  we  are  go- 
ing to  keep  the  commandments  of  God  and 
the  Sabbath.”  They  begged  me  most  patheti- 
cally to  visit  them  again  soon,  and  teach  them 


Altar  on  the  Summit  of  One  of  the  Highest  Mountains 


(91) 


92  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

the  Bible.  We  then  parted.  These  people 
had  accepted  God’s  message  with  joy  and 
without  hesitation. 

A few  days  afterward,  we  reached  the  vil- 
lage of  Suri,  where  the  mine  was  located,  five 
days  from  La  Paz.  Suri  is  a little  village, 
situated  on  the  top  of  high  mountains  at  the 
head  of  a fertile  valley,  in  a thickly  inhabited 
region.  The  people  soon  learned  that  I had 
a knowledge  of  the  care  of  the  sick,  and  they 
began  to  bring  their  sick  to  me.  One  woman 
brought  a baby  from  a distance  of  twenty 
miles.  I was  very  busy  day  after  day,  treat- 
ing these  poor  heathen  people.  I made  it  a 
point  to  pray  with  them  all,  and  while  treat- 
ing the  sick,  would  explain  to  them  the  loving- 
kindness of  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I was  so  busy  that  I almost  forgot  to  get 
the  samples  I had  come  for.  I stayed  there 
five  days,  and  the  last  day  was  the  busiest  of 
all.  By  that  time,  the  people  who  had  been 
treated  the  first  few  days  were  well  on  the 
road  to  recovery.  I then  visited  the  mine, 
securing  samples  of  ore  at  different  places, 
making  drawings  of  the  locations,  taking  pho- 
tographs of  the  region,  and  locating  them  on 


MISSIONARY  MINING  93 

the  map  that  I had  made.  After  a few  more 
days,  I was  ready  to  return  to  La  Paz. 

The  morning  I was  to  leave,  as  I was 
getting  ready  to  mount  my  mule,  I found 
that  the  whole  village  had  turned  out  to  say 
“Good-by.”  One  of  the  leading  men  said: 
“We  have  enjoyed  your  visit.  You  have  done 
us  good.  You  are  different  from  the  mining 
men  we  have  met  in  the  past.  If  you  come 
here  with  your  family,  we  will  build  you  a 
house.  We  want  to  accept  your  religion.  It 
is  much  better  than  what  we  have  had.  We 
want  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  We  have  kept  no 
day  in  the  past.”  One  old  man  told  me  he 
would  give  me  a gold  mine  if  I would  return. 

It  seems  that  the  Lord  prepares  the  people 
for  His  message;  for  when  we  tell  them  of 
the  soon  coming  of  the  Saviour,  and  of  the 
importance  of  being  ready,  we  seldom  find 
any  who  do  not  feel  that  it  is  the  truth,  and 
want  to  make  preparation  to  meet  Him  by 
putting  the  evil  out  of  their  lives. 

Every  one  of  the  people  had  brought  fruit, 
and  asked  me  to  take  it  along  with  me;  but 
this  was  impossible.  I picked  out  a little  of 
the  choicest,  and  thanked  the  people  very 
much  for  their  kindness,  and  told  them  that 


94  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

I hoped  to  be  back  some  day  and  teach  them 
more. 

We  returned  to  La  Paz  by  a different 
route  from  that  by  which  we  came;  but  in  a 
few  days,  I was  sorry  that  we  did,  for  this 
road  led  us  through  a very  rough  part  of  the 
country.  In  many  places,  it  was  steep  and 
dangerous.  We  had  to  ford  boiling  mountain 
torrents,  and  with  difficulty  could  we  keep 
our  mules  from  being  washed  down  the 
stream. 

The  second  day  of  the  return  journey,  we 
came  to  a place  where  the  road  seemed  to  end. 
We  looked  about  for  the  road  on  which  to  con- 
tinue, but  found  none.  There  were  precipices 
all  around  us.  Only  one  place  seemed  to  be 
passable,  and  that  led  into  a roaring  torrent 
that  ran  between  two  huge  cliffs.  We  could 
not  see  what  was  beyond;  but  as  again  and 
again  we  searched  for  a place  to  get  out,  and 
could  find  none,  we  decided  to  plunge  into 
this  wild  torrent,  with  the  hope  of  coming  out 
on  the  other  side  all  right.  So  we  waded  in. 
The  terrific  current  instantly  whirled  our 
mules  off  their  feet,  and  we  were  washed  in 
between  the  cliffs.  After  a few  moments, 
which  seemed  hours  to  me,  we  came  to  an 


(95) 


Missionaries  Greeted  with  Flags  by  the  Quenuani  School 


96  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

opening  on  the  other  side  of  the  gorge.  There 
was  a sharp  turn  in  the  river  bed,  and  we  were 
thrown  violently  out  upon  the  shore. 

We  continued  as  fast  as  possible  in  the 
direction  of  La  Paz.  Early  and  late  we  were 
on  the  road.  Our  route  now  lay  for  the  most 
part  up  steep  mountain  sides.  About  three 
o’clock  one  morning,  while  it  was  still  dark, 
we  were  picking  our  way  up  the  mountain, 
when  I noticed  that  my  mule  had  left  the  nar- 
row, zigzag  trail.  At  a point  where  he  should 
have  turned,  he  had  kept  right  on,  going  out 
on  the  side  of  the  cliff;  and  when  I discovered 
that  we  were  off  the  trail,  we  had  already 
reached  a place  so  steep  that  I was  afraid  to 
attempt  to  turn  the  mule  around.  I carefully 
stopped  him  and  dismounted.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  I could  keep  my  balance,  and 
I gave  up  all  hopes  of  saving  the  animal;  but 
as  I was  wondering  whether  possibly  I could 
get  the  saddle  and  bridle  off  and  save  them, 
suddenly  the  mule  turned  around  and  quietly 
and  meekly  made  his  way  back  to  the  road. 
I quickly  followed  him,  very  thankful  for  our 
marvelous  escape,  and  we  continued  our 
j ourney . 


MISSIONARY  MINING 


97 


When  we  were  one  day’s  ride  from  the  city 
of  La  Paz,  I became  very  ill.  That  night, 
when  we  stopped  at  a house,  I was  hardly 
able  to  dismount.  I had  violent  chills  and 
fever  all  night.  Early  the  following  morning, 
I got  up  with  difficulty,  mounted  my  mule, 
and  continued  my  journey  as  rapidly  as 
possible. 

On  arriving  at  La  Paz,  I turned  over  my 
samples  and  maps  to  the  man  who  had  sent 
me  to  investigate  the  mine.  I lay  in  bed  for 
three  weeks  after  that,  with  malaria. 


7 


— 


CHAPTER  V 


Exigencies  of  Missionary  Pioneering 

THE  calls  made  upon  us  by  the  people 
were  now  almost  more  than  we  could 
meet ; so  we  were  made  glad  when  we  re- 
ceived notice  that  Brother  Ignacio  Kalber- 
matten  and  his  wife  were  coming  from 
Argentine  to  help  us.  As  soon  as  they  ar- 
rived, we  began  to  hold  meetings  for  the 
Indians,  in  the  streets  of  La  Paz,  speaking 
through  an  interpreter.  One  result  of  these 
meetings  was  that  a Spanish  woman  of  a 
well-to-do  La  Paz  family,  who  understood 
the  Indian  language,  accepted  the  gospel 
message. 

A few  months  after  the  arrival  of  these  first 
coworkers,  Brother  Otto  Schultz  came  to  re- 
lieve us  of  the  book  work.  We  were  very 
thankful  for  this  additional  help,  as  our  work 
had  become  very  heavy.  We  still  continued 
our  dispensary  work  for  the  Indians,  Mrs. 
Stahl  having  charge  of  this  department. 

As  we  were  working  in  this  way,  Mrs.  Stahl 
became  suddenly  ill  of  typhus  fever,  which 
proved  to  be  very  serious  indeed.  For  weeks 
(98) 


•?M  I 


Street  Scene  in  La  Paz 


(99) 


TOO  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

she  was  in  delirium.  Two  physicians,  friends 
of  mine,  who  called  every  day,  told  me  plainly 
that  she  was  beyond  all  human  help.  But  our 
trust  was  in  Him  who  knows  no  defeat;  and 
eventually,  to  the  wonder  of  our  friends,  she 
began  to  improve. 

As  it  is  very  difficult  to  recover  one’s 
strength  in  these  high  altitudes  after  a severe 
illness,  I decided  to  take  Mrs.  Stahl  down  to 
the  Yung  as  regions,  in  order  that  she  could 
recuperate.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  she  was 
able  to  ride  a horse,  I fitted  out  the  expedi- 
tion, and  with  our  son,  we  started.  But  we 
had  overcalculated  Mrs.  Stahl’s  strength;  and 
on  the  second  day,  I was  compelled  to  lift  her 
off  her  horse  many  times,  in  order  that  she 
might  rest.  To  make  matters  worse,  a heavy 
rain  came  on,  and  continued  nearly  all  that 
day.  We  were  not  prepared  for  this  rain, 
and  consequently  our  clothing  was  wet 
through  in  a short  time.  Still  we  kept  on, 
hoping  to  make  our  destination  soon.  By  this 
time,  Mrs.  Stahl  was  suffering  so  much  pain 
and  fatigue  that  she  could  not  refrain  from 
weeping.  That  afternoon,  we  reached  the 
finca,  or  farm,  where  we  were  to  stay  a few 
weeks.  After  the  first  week,  Mrs.  Stahl  was 


MISSIONARY  PIONEERING  101 

able  to  take  little  walks  out  among  the  orange 
trees. 

The  afternoon  of  the  fourth  day,  I received 
a telegram  from  La  Paz,  urgently  requesting 
my  return,  because  of  the  sickness  of  Brother 
Schultz.  He  had  been  taken  down  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  was  having  hemorrhages. 
It  was  decided  that  I should  leave  at  once  for 
La  Paz,  to  care  for  him. 

The  next  morning,  1 started  out  early,  leav- 
ing my  wife,  our  little  son,  and  our  Indian  boy 
at  the  finca.  I traveled  all  that  day,  urging 
my  mule  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and . 
nearly  all  of  the  following  night,  and  reached 
La  Paz  early  in  the  morning.  I found 
Brother  Schultz  very  ill.  He  was  having 
convulsions,  and  needed  the  most  careful 
attention;  but  after  the  third  week  of  his 
sickness,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him 
recover.  Then  I started  out  to  meet  my  wife, 
who  was  coming  in  from  the  Yung  as  region. 

About  this  time,  I received  a letter  from 
Elder  A.  N.  Allen,  of  Lima,  Peru,  asking  me 
to  meet  him  on  the  other  side  of  Lake  Titicaca 
and  visit  the  Indians  with  him.  I sent  back 
word  that  I would  meet  him  on  the  date  desig- 
nated. When  I reached  Puno,  Peru,  where 


102  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

we  were  to  meet,  I found  that  he  had  already 
gone  into  the  interior.  He  had  left  word, 
however,  where  I was  to  meet  him.  I secured 
a horse,  and  early  that  morning  started  to  the 
place.  After  going  about  fifteen  miles,  I saw 
Indians  coming  toward  me  on  horseback. 
They  approached  rather  shyly,  and  asked  if 
I was  the  missionary  that  was  coming  to  visit 
them.  When  told  that  I was,  they  said  they 
had  come  to  meet  me,  and  would  accompany 
me  to  their  place.  When  I reached  Plateria, 
I found  Brother  Allen  there,  also  a great  con- 
course of  Indians. 

The  chief  of  these  Indians,  whose  name  was 
Camacho,  had  been  there  for  the  past  three 
or  four  months,  trying  to  interest  his  people 
in  the  better  things  of  life.  He  was  a very 
intelligent  man,  and  was  one  of  the  few  In- 
dians who  could  read.  He  had  come  into  pos- 
session of  some  of  our  Spanish  publications 
that  had  been  distributed  through  that  region 
by  Pastor  Thomann;  and  through  them  he 
had  become  interested  in  the  gospel. 

As  soon  as  he  had  read  this  literature,  he  be- 
gan to  teach  his  people  what  he  had  learned 
from  it.  In  this  way,  he  created  an  active 
interest  among  the  Indians  in  the  immediate 


A Peruvian  Mountaineer 


(103) 


104  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

neighborhood.  After  a few  months,  as  this 
interest  grew,  he  wrote  to  our  mission  office 
at  Lima,  requesting  that  a teacher  be  sent  to 
them.  This  led  to  Pastor  Allen’s  visit,  and  his 
invitation  to  me  to  join  him  there. 

I had  long  been  especially  interested  in  the 
Indians,  and  now  I felt  that  the  time  had 
come  when  I should  give  my  full  time  to  them. 
I asked  our  South  American  Union  Confer- 
ence to  release  me  from  my  Bolivian  work, 
that  I might  come  and  live  among  the  Indians 
on  this  side  of  the  lake.  Consent  was  given 
after  a while,  and  my  family  and  I have  ever 
since  devoted  ourselves  wholly  to  the  Indians. 


i 


An  Oppressed  Race 

WE  found  the  Indians  in  a truly  de- 
plorable condition,  living  in  the  most 
abject  squalor  and  ignorance,  know- 
ing nothing  whatever  of  the  simplest  laws  of 
hygiene,  and  addicted  to  the  most  horrible 
drunkenness,  and  to  the  cocaine  habit. 

Their  little  mud  huts  were  filthy  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  full  of  vermin.  On  one  side 
of  the  room  usually  was  a small  stove  made 
of  stones;  and  when  the  Indians  cooked  their 
meals  upon  these  stones,  the  little  room  would 
be  filled  with  smoke,  which  caused  much  dis- 
ease of  the  eyes.  They  did  not  know  the  use 
of  knives,  forks,  or  spoons,  but  ate  their  food 
with  their  unwashed  fingers. 

They  never  bathed  nor  changed  their 
clothes.  We  saw  children  there  that  had  their 
clothes  sewed  upon  them,  it  never  being  in- 
tended that  the  garments  should  be  removed 
till  they  actually  fell  off  because  of  decay  due 
to  the  filth. 

The  Indians  were  beaten  and  deceived  on 
every  hand  by  the  white  people.  They  were 
considered  as  of  less  value  than  beasts.  The 

(105) 


(106) 


Indian  Woman  Grinding  Barley 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE 


107 


first  to  mistreat  them  were  the  great  land- 
owners,  who  for  many  years  had  systemati- 
cally robbed  them  of  their  lands.  These  lands 
were  originally  taken  by  the  Spanish  con - 
quistadores , who  in  turn  contracted  with  many 
of  the  Indians  to  work  in  the  mines,  paying 
them  in  land.  At  that  time,  the  land  was  re- 
garded as  of  little  worth ; but  it  has  proved  to 
be  valuable,  being  excellent  grazing  land  for 
the  alpaca,  the  llama,  and  the  vicuna,  whose 
natural  habitat  is  on  these  high  plateaus. 

Any  Indian  who  was  strong  and  fortunate 
enough  to  endure  the  hard  work  of  the  mines 
for  two  or  three  years  received  a title  to  a 
large  tract  of  land.  These  papers  either  have 
been  lost,  or  have  become  unreadable  because 
of  great  age;  therefore  in  the  suits  with  the 
powerful  landowners,  the  Indians  cannot 
prove  their  ownership  by  written  titles,  and 
most  of  the  best  lands  have  been  taken  from 
them. 

The  system  of  the  usurpers  was  as  effective 
as  it  was  simple.  Usually  they  forcibly  re- 
moved the  boundaries  of  the  Indians’  land, 
and  at  the  same  time  laid  claim  to  it.  If  an 
Indian  remonstrated  with  a landowner,  he  was 
beaten  by  the  landowner’s  servants.  Finally 


108  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

the  Indian  in  desperation  would  go  to  one  of 
the  larger  villages  and  secure  a lawyer  to  take 
his  case  in  hand.  This  would  necessitate  a 
suit  against  the  wealthy  landowner.  The  law- 
yer would  take  the  case,  promising  faithfully 
to  present  the  necessary  papers  before  the 
court,  and  get  the  return  of  the  land.  Many 
papers  would  be  prepared,  for  each  of  which 
a charge  of  from  one  to  four  dollars  would  be 
made;  and  the  Indian,  in  order  to  get  money 
to  pay  for  them  and  carry  on  the  suit,  would 
be  obliged  to  sell  his  cattle. 

For  months,  the  Indian  would  go  back  and 
forth  from  his  little  hut  to  the  distant  village, 
inquiring  of  the  lawyer  how  his  case  was  pro- 
ceeding. Usually  the  lawyer  would  encourage 
him,  telling  him  that  he  had  not  lost  the  case, 
although  he  had  not  won  it  yet.  At  last,  the 
lawyer  would  say  that  the  Indian  had  won  the 
case,  that  the  land  was  his,  and  then  would  de- 
mand four  or  five  dollars  for  making  out  the 
final  papers.  The  Indian  would  return  to  his 
home,  happy  that  he  had  won  back  his  land, 
only  to  find,  a few  days  later,  that  another 
suit  had  been  instituted  against  him.  He 
would  go  again  to  the  lawyer,  who  would  tell 
him:  “Yes,  such  and  such  a man  has  now  be- 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE 


109 


gun  suit  against  you,  and  laid  claim  to  your 
land,  and  we  shall  have  to  make  out  some 
papers  and  fight  this  man.  We  shall  win, 
however.” 

i 

Though  the  Indians  have  won  the  suits 
against  the  landowners  again  and  again,  still 
other  suits  have  been  brought  against  them 
immediately.  In  this  way,  an  Indian  would 
keep  on  until  he  had  spent  all  his  money,  sell- 
ing his  cattle  and  everything  he  owned  to 
defend  himself,  and  after  all  lose  his  home- 
stead. When  an  Indian  was  worn  out  and 
discouraged,  the  landowner  would  tell  him 
that  he  might  keep  his  place  if  he  would  take 
care  of  a few  cattle  for  the  landowner.  The 
Indian,  having  no  way  to  turn,  would  consent 
to  this,  and  would  take  care  of  the  cattle,  his 
wife  and  children  also  working  certain  days 
for  the  landowner,  helping  in  the  planting  and 
harvesting  of  the  crops.  After  a year  or  so, 
the  landowner  would  move  the  Indian  and  his 
family  to  a distant  part  of  his  large  farm;  and 
from  that  time,  they  would  be  literally  ab- 
sorbed by  the  landowner,  who  would  see  to 
it  that  the  Indian  was  always  in  debt  to  him, 
and  therefore  never  able  to  leave  the  farm. 
The  Indians,  not  knowing  how  to  keep 


110  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

accounts,  could  never  clear  themselves  of  debt, 
and  were  thus  kept  virtually  in  slavery. 
There  were  hundreds  of  Indians  in  this  con- 
dition. 

In  El  Comercio , a newspaper  published  in 
Lima,  Peru,  the  following  editorial  on  this 
subject  appeared  November  27,  1913: 

^OUTRAGES  SUFFERED  BY  NATIVE  INDIANS 

"Yesterday  afternoon  twenty-two  natives 
from  the  provinces  of  Lampa  and  Azangaro 
came  to  this  printing  office,  introduced  by  Ser- 
geant Major  Teodomiro  Gutierrez.  These  na- 
tives came  to  present  a complaint;  and  with 
most  somber  colors,  and  phrases  filled  with 
emotion,  they  painted  a distressing  picture  of 
the  innumerable  taunts,  tortures,  and  rob- 
beries from  which  they  are  suffering. 

"Far  from  bringing  a vague  charge,  which 
would  make  their  protest  also  vague,  they 
bring,  engraved  in  their  memories,  the  names, 
dates,  and  places  where  these  abuses  have  been 
perpetrated  against  them. 

"The  first  to  speak  was  a strapping  youth, 
Avelino  Zumi,  of  Lampa.  He  relates  a tale 
of  horror  and  spoliation.  From  him,  as  from 
nearly  all  his  companions,  have  been  taken 


(Ill) 


“Finca”  (Farm)  in  the  Cuzco  Valley 


112  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

lands;  small,  to  be  sure,  but  upon  which  are 
founded  all  their  hopes  of  a livelihood.  The 
vicious  system  of  feigned  sales  is  employed; 
and  these  natives,  being  poor  and  despised 
and  ignorant,  cannot  protest,  within  the 
boundaries  of  their  own  provinces,  and  get 
justice  against  such  outrages.  So  they  have  to 
make  immense  sacrifices,  and  take  long,  hard 
journeys  to  Lima,  such  as  this  made  by  the 
twenty-two  natives  who  are  in  this  company, 
to  find  others  who  will  hear  their  complaints 
and  so  remedy  the  evil  which,  in  those  sec- 
tions distant  from  the  capital,  has  grown  to 
be  a constant  and  odious  system  of  oppression. 

“Such  complaints,  it  is  true,  have  no  new 
sound.  It  is  a deep,  uniform  voice,  which 
comes  from  many  thousands  of  unfortunates 
deprived  of  their  rights,  and  forced  into  all* 
forms  of  slavery  — a voice  which  is  raised  and 
which  wishes  to  be  heard  on  the  road  of  recti- 
tude, that  reason  may  speak  to  conscience, 
rather  than  have  to  resort  to  insurrection,  and 
stain  with  blood  the  fields  which  they  in- 
herited, and  which  are  being  taken  from  them 
to  their  deepest  grief,  the  infamy  being  dis- 
guised under  a maze  of  legal  papers  whose 
meaning  they  are  not  able  to  understand. 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE  113 

“Before  such  a tale  of  extortions,  the  ques- 
tion naturally  arises,  Why  do  they  not  make 
reclamation  ? 

“But  the  fact  is,  there  is  no  one  to  whom 
they  can  appeal;  and  we  repeat  it,  they  are 
compelled  to  come  to  Lima,  and  go  directly 
and  personally  to  the  president  of  the  re- 
public, as  these  are  now  doing  and  others 
have  done,  to  secure  relief  from  the  evils  that 
afflict  them. 

“The  preponderant  power  which  the  land- 
lords have  in  each  province,  and  their  natural 
defenses  when  threatened,  all  the  patronage 
whereby  they  farm  out  every  small  interest  in 
the  villages,  itself  as  cruel  as  it  is  absurd,  has 
generally  succeeded  in  supplying  the  guaran- 
ties necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  im- 
punity which  they  demand. 

“Avelino  Zumi  tells  us:  ‘We  have  no  one 
before  whom  we  may  make  complaint;  judges, 
subprefects,  all  are  in  with  the  landlords. 
Every  protest,  then,  falls  to  the  ground  be- 
fore the  inactivity  of  the  authorities,  before 
the  inertia  of  the  judges;  and  when  the  cry 
becomes  louder  than  usual,  then  comes  the 
scorn  of  repression,  penalties,  ill  treatment, 


8 


114 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


the  iron  bar  of  the  prison,  and  new  abuses  to 
terrorize  the  humble  spirit  of  the  natives.’ 

“Zumi  continues  telling  us  that  no  author- 
ity of  the  province  of  Lampa,  nor  any  of  the 
province  of  Azangaro,  nor  the  department 
officers  of  Puno,  have  been  able  to  put  a stop 
to  the  excesses. 

“Then  he  goes  on  telling  us  of  another  out- 
rage: In  the  fore  part  of  last  May,  several 
groups  of  natives  went  to  the  prefect  of  Puno, 
and  this  authority  sent  them  to  the  subprefect 
of  Lampa;  but  on  reaching  this  place,  though 
defenseless,  they  were  attacked  by  the  land- 
lords and  their  followers  with  rifles  and  re- 
volvers, and  in  that  brutal  attack,  with  all 
its  odious  characteristics  of  perfidy  and  sav- 
agery, five  natives  were  killed  and  as  many 
more  wounded.  But  this  was  not  enough. 
One  of  the  wounded  was  taken  by  the  assail- 
ants and  carried  away  to  the  town  of  Taraco, 
province  of  Huancane,  and  there  slain.  It 
has  not  been  possible  even  yet  to  determine 
the  place  where  the  body  was  buried. 

“In  another  place,  and  always  protected 
by  that  same  impunity  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready spoken,  the  landlords  not  long  ago 
declared  the  Indians  had  started  an  insurrec- 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE 


115 


tion,  though  it  did  not  exist  save  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  concocted  the  malicious  accusa- 
tion. Then  the  authorities  were  stirred  up, 
and  forty-seven  natives  were  thrown  into 
prison  in  Saman,  and  ninety-seven  in  the  re- 
maining districts. 

“Nor  is  that  all.  These  prisoners  are 
treated  with  a rigor  beyond  explanation ; 
they  are  not  permitted  to  receive  even  the 
food  brought  them  by  their  fellow  villagers. 
Many  have  died,  others  are  sick,  and  of 
course  they  are  not  cared  for. 

“There  is  yet  another  cruel  story:  Last  Oc- 
tober, in  the  town  of  Achalla,  Azangaro,  the 
house  of  the  native  Andres  Apaza  was  at- 
tacked ; he  was  wounded,  and  one  of  his  young 
daughters,  twelve  years  old,  was  first  as- 
saulted and  then  handcuffed.  As  the  assail- 
ants fled,  they  set  fire  to  the  house,  and  the 
youngest  daughter,  Inocencia  Apaza,  was 
made  fuel  for  the  flames. 

“To  continue  the  narrative  is  but  to  relate 
more  horrors.  Greater  inhumanity,  or  greater 
crime,  is  not  conceivable,  nor  a greater  aban- 
donment. The  natives  of  those  lands,  as  it 
is,  live  at  the  mercy  of  the  voracity  of  those 
men  who  brutally  take  possession  of  their 


116  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

property  by  violence,  and  of  their  lives  by 
terror. 

“The  twenty-two  natives  who  came  yester- 
day, of  whom  we  are  speaking,  make  charges 
of  the  abuses  related,  and  of  others,  against 
the  following  persons:  Mariano  Zuniga  Bejar, 
Ildefonso  Gonzales,  Eloy  Gonzales,  Telesforo 
Gonzales,  Luis  Gonzales,  of  Lampa;  Fran- 
cisco Ayamamana,  steward  of  the  Gonzales 
family,  from  the  same  province;  Manuel 
Marfa  Perez,  also  of  this  province;  Justo 
Romero,  of  Calavilla;  Fabio  Romero,  from 
the  same  place;  Mario  Perez,  of  Puyuse;  Juan 
Yambe,  from  Saman;  Juan  Dereda,  of  Cami- 
naca;  Mariano  Abarca  Duenas,  from  Saman; 
Miguel  Salinas  and  Isidora  Portugal,  of 
Chupas,  and  from  this  place  also,  Francisco 
Paredes;  Asuncion,  widow  of  Valcarcel  and 
Manuel  Marfa  Perez,  of  Caracoto;  and  the 
priest  Diego  Castillo,  of  the  same  place. 

“For  his  part,  Sergeant  Major  Teodomiro 
Gutierrez,  who  has  just  completed  a commis- 
sion of  investigation  in  the  southern  depart- 
ments concerning  these  same  outrages  from 
which  the  natives  have  suffered,  for  which 
commission  he  was  appointed  by  the  govern- 
ment, assures  us  of  the  truthfulness  of  the 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE 


117 


acts  which  these  natives  have  come  to  us  to 
denounce,  and  he  declares  that  greater  crimes 
are  being  committed  by  the  landlords  and  by 
the  authorities  themselves. 

“Surely  the  government,  before  whom  these 
natives  from  Azangaro  and  Lampa  will  go  to 
present  themselves  to-day  or  to-morrow,  will 
apply  an  urgent  remedy  to  so  painful  a situa- 
tion, granting  to  the  claimants  the  guaranties 
they  ask,  and,  at  the  same  time,  ordering  the 
restitution  of  the  lands  and  other  property 
which  have  been  torn  from  them,  and  the 
punishment  of  the  guilty.” 

As  these  Indians  go  through  the  villages 
on  their  way  to  the  market  to  sell  their  little 
produce,  the  people  of  the  village  beat  them 
and  abuse  them  in  many  ways.  If  one  of  the 
villagers  happens  to  want  a messenger  to  go 
to  some  distant  place,  or  has  work  to  be  done, 
the  Indian  is  stopped  in  the  street,  and  his 
goods  are  taken  from  him,  and  retained  until 
he  has  delivered  the  message  or  done  the  work 
desired. 

At  other  times,  if  a villager  or  a landowner 
wants  to  take  his  produce  to  some  city  to  sell, 
and  does  not  have  enough  burros  and  llamas 
for  the  purpose,  he  sends  out  his  servants 


118  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

among  the  Indians,  and  forcibly  borrows 
llamas  and  burros.  After  using  these  animals, 
sometimes  for  a week  or  two,  he  returns  them 
to  the  neighborhood,  and  turns  them  loose, 
and  the  Indians  have  to  get  them  back  as 
best  they  can. 

At  times,  the  Indians  become  desperate, 
and  form  in  mobs  to  resist  these  depreda- 
tions. Then  immediately  word  is  sent  to  the 
authorities,  that  the  Indians  have  risen  in  re- 
bellion; and  a company  of  armed  soldiers  is 
sent  to  the  landowner,  who,  with  the  soldiers, 
hunts  the  Indians  like  wild  beasts,  and  shoots 
them  down  in  cold  blood. 

Those  directly  responsible  for  this  terrible 
condition  are  the  priests,  who  have  had  the 
Indians  in  hand  ever  since  the  Spanish  con- 
quest. They  have  posed  as  the  Indians’ 
friends  and  advisers  though  all  the  while 
betraying  them.  They  have  always  opposed 
any  plan  to  help  elevate  them,  and  have  kept 
them  in  ignorance  and  superstition.  Drunk- 
enness has  been  encouraged  by  these  priests. 
In  fact,  the  use  of  alcohol  is  always  a com- 
plement to  their  religious  feasts.  These 
feasts  are  held  in  each  district  on  an  average 
of  about  every  two  months,  the  priests  send- 


(119) 


Llamas  Carrying  Grain  over  the  Mountains 


120  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

in g out  messengers  to  announce  them  and 
summon  the  people  to  come.  The  Indians  are 
made  to  understand  that  these  feasts  are  in 
honor  of  Christ,  and  every  means  is  used  to 
persuade  and  compel  them  to  attend.  Those 
who  are  disinclined  to  do  so  are  many  times 
threatened  with  fine  and  imprisonment. 

On  the  day  designated,  the  Indians  gather 
by  the  thousands  in  the  village  of  the  dis- 
trict. Many  large  cans  of  alcohol  are  placed 
in  conspicuous  places,  and  large  quantities  are 
sold  to  the  Indians.  Costumes  and  masks  of 
the  most  hideous  design  are  also  sold  to  them, 
some  of  these  representing  animals,  and  some 
the  devil.  After  a few  hours,  both  men  and 
women  become  very  drunk.  Even  the  chil- 
dren drink.  Then  the  priests  organize  a 
procession.  A large  image  of  Christ  or  of 
^one  of  the  saints  is  brought  out  of  the  church 
building.  This  image  is  placed  on  a platform, 
and  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  four  men. 
Smaller  images  are  delivered  to  others  of  the 
crowd;  and  the  priest,  leading  the  procession, 
marches  with  the  people  solemnly  around  the 
church  building  to  the  Indian  music.  In 
many  instances,  the  Indians  carrying  these 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE  121 

images  are  so  drunk  they  are  hardly  able  to 
walk. 

The  priest,  after  leading  the  procession 
around  for  about  half  an  hour,  again  enters 
the  church  building,  the  crowd  following,  and 
the  images  are  deposited  in  the  front  part  of 
the  church.  The  priest  then  immediately  be- 


A Mask  Used  by  Indian  Dancers 


1 22  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

gins  to  say  mass,  all  the  people  meanwhile 
being  prostrated  in  front  of  the  image,  on  the 
church  floor.  The  Indians  bring  their  offer- 
ings to  the  priests,  and  go  out  again  to  take 
part  in  the  revelry. 

When  these  Indians  become  intoxicated, 
they  are  very  savage,  and  fight  among 
themselves.  Many  are  wounded,  some  are 
killed.  The  cursing  is  terrible  to  hear.  The 
intoxicated  Indian  women,  when  dancing, 
not  infrequently  fall  upon  their  babes,  which 
they  carry  in  shawls  on  their  backs.  The 
babes  are  thus  seriously  hurt,  and  sometimes 
killed  outright.  ' 

It  is  a fearful  sight  to  see  the  hundreds, 
yes,  thousands  of  drunken,  dancing,  fighting 
people,  their  hair  hanging  over  their  faces. 
Many  are  covered  with  blood.  Those  who  are 
too  drunk  to  seek  shelter  lie  out  on  the  cold 
plains  all  night,  and  many  of  these  die  from 
exposure.  Some  are  killed  in  the  bullfights 
that  take  place  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  feast. 

These  bullfights  are  carried  on  in  this  way: 
In  the  main  plaza  of  the  village,  the  streets 
are  blocked  up;  and  into  the  inclosure  thus 
formed,  the  bulls  are  led,  after  having  been 


/ 


(123) 


Teaching  Children  to  Dance  and  Drink  Alcohol 


124  IN  THE  LAND  OE  THE  INCAS 

tormented  until  they  are  furious.  Then  many 
of  the  drunken  Indians  are  persuaded  to  enter 
the  inclosure  with  the  furious  animals,  to 
“show  off.”  As  they  run  about,  teasing  the 
bulls  with  their  shawls,  and  striking  them, 
many  Indians  are  seriously  wounded,  being 
gored  and  trodden  underfoot,  and  some  are 
killed.  During  all  this  time,  the  priest  can 
be  seen  mingling  with  the  people,  rubbing  his 
hands  together  in  evident  satisfaction. 

These  feasts  continue  for  days.  After  the 
Indians’  money  is  all  gone,  they  return  to 
their  huts.  They  are  in  a most  pitiful  condi- 
tion, their  clothes  dirty  and  torn,  their  faces 
wild  and  haggard;  and  many  never  return. 
Wives  are  wailing  for  their  husbands.  Little 
children  are  weeping  bitterly  because  their 
fathers  have  been  killed;  and  in  some  cases, 
both  father  and  mother  have  died  during  the 
feast.  Many  young  Indian  girls  have  been 
ruined  and  infected  with  horrible  diseases  by 
the  hoodlums  of  the  villages.  And  all  this  in 
the  name  of  Jesus! 

It  is  through  these  religious  feasts  that 
drunkenness  has  become  universal  among  the 
Indians.  In  fact,  the  drinking  of  alcohol  is 
regarded  by  them  as  a virtue.  The  priests 


AN  OPPRESSED  RACE 


125 


encourage  also  the  chewing  of  coca  leaves, 
from  which  cocaine  is  extracted.  This  dis- 
torts their  faces,  pollutes  their  breath,  deadens 
their  nerves,  and  dulls  their  mental  faculties, 
robbing  them  of  every  vestige  of  intelli- 
gence. These  vicious  habits  have  degraded 
the  Indians  to  the  extreme,  undermined  their 
naturally  strong  constitutions,  and  brought 
upon  them  much  disease.  Smallpox,  typhoid 
fever,  dysentery,  and  many  other  diseases  are 
prevalent  among  them. 

Christ  has  been  entirely  misrepresented  to 
them  by  the  priests.  The  Indians  regard 
Him  as  a strange,  mystic  being  who  cannot  be 
touched  by  pity,  and  who  loves  only  the 
priests;  and  they  are  taught  that  any  favors 
they  are  to  receive  from  Him  must  come 
through  the  priests.  This  accounts  for  the  ab- 
ject obedience  they  render  to  the  priests,  and 
the  priests  have  taken  advantage  of  this  to 
enrich  themselves  and  satisfy  their  own  lusts. 


CHAPTER  VII 


A Transformation 

THIS  was  the  condition  when  we  located 
among  the  Indians  at  Plateria.  Chief 
Camacho  let  us  have  part  of  his  house 
to  live  in;  and  it  was  here  that  the  mission 
was  started.  Like  wildfire  the  news  spread 
that  the  missionary  had  come  to  help  them 
and  care  for  them  in  their  sickness. 

The  Indians  have  no  idea  of  how  to  treat 
their  sick,  but  they  have  many  superstitious 
ideas  about  treatments.  For  sprains  and  frac- 
tures, they  kill  snakes,  cut  them  open,  and  tie 
them  around  the  injured  part.  Over  a wound 
or  a bruise,  they  sometimes  bind  leaves:  at 
other  times,  a piece  of  sheep’s  liver.  These 
exclude  the  air,  and  cause  infection.  In  pneu- 
monia cases,  some  will  kill  a black  cat,  cut  it 
open,  and  while  it  is  still  warm,  tie  it  on  the 
chest.  In  cases  of  insanity  — which  fortu- 
nately are  very  rare  — they  beat  the  patient 
all  over  the  body  with  a prickly  plant  that 
imparts  a terrible  burning  sensation. 

Hundreds  came  to  us  for  treatment.  We 
were  busy  from  early  morning  till  late  at 
night.  Many  of  the  sick  had  to  be  carried  to 
(126) 


(127) 


The  First  Mission  Headquarters 


128  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

us  in  blankets,  and  we  fitted  up  a small  room 
in  which  to  house  some  of  the  worst  cases. 
Many  were  in  a pitiable  condition,  covered 
with  vermin  and  filth,  and  with  scabs  under 
which  the  pus  was  visible. 

We  ministered  personally  to  all  that  we 
possibly  could;  but  they  came  in  such  num- 
bers that  we  were  obliged  to  enlist  the  help 
of  the  Indians  themselves. 

One  of  the  first  things  we  taught  the  In- 
dians was  how  to  keep  clean.  We  organized 
several  washing  classes,  with  fifteen  to  twenty 
persons  in  each  class,  providing  basins  and 
towels  and  soap  for  them,  and  taught  them 
how  to  wash  themselves.  It  was  pitiful,  and 
sometimes  amusing,  to  see  them.  They  would 
scrub  one  part  of  the  face  until  we  told  them 
to  move  on  for  fear  they  would  rub  the  skin 
off.  But  in  a comparatively  short  time,  they 
learned.  They  were  enthusiastic,  and  en- 
joyed being  clean.  Sometimes  people  from 
the  villages  near  would  come  and  visit  us, 
and  would  sneer  at  us,  and  say,  “Did  we  not 
tell  you  that  these  Indians  were  worse  than 
the  beasts,  not  knowing  enough  even  to  wash 
themselves  ?”  The  only  answer  we  would  give 
was  to  ask  these  critics  what  condition  they 


A TRANSFORMATION 


129 


would  be  in,  and  what  condition  we  would  be 
in,  if  we  had  not  had  good  mothers  or  some 
one  else  to  teach  us. 

While  we  were  treating  the  Indians,  we 
prayed  with  them,  and  told  them  of  the  love 
of  Jesus  and  the  plan  of  salvation;  and  as  we 
explained  these  things,  the  Indians  would  al- 
most invariably  exclaim:  “Oh,  we  did  not 
know  that  before!  We  did  not  know  that 
Jesus  loved  us.  We  did  not  know  that  it  was 
wrong  to  drink  alcohol  or  to  use  cocaine.” 

In  one  of  our  first  meetings  for  the  In- 
dians, a young  man  of  gigantic  stature,  who 
had  become  a wreck  through  using  cocaine 
and  drinking  alcohol,  came  out  from  th$ 
crowd,  and  taking  me  by  the  arm,  looked  me 
earnestly  in  the  face,  and  asked , fervently, 
“Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  Jesus  loves 
me?” 

I answered,  “Yes,  my  son,  He  does.” 

“Oh,”  he  said,  “tell  me  again,  do  you  really 
mean  to  say  that  Jesus  loves  me?” 

Tears  were  streaming  down  his  rough  face. 
It  seemed  almost  too  much  for  him  to  compre- 
hend, after  the  life  that  he  had  led. 

God  blessed  in  a marvelous  manner  from 
the  very  first.  People  who  were  carried  to  us 


130  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

in  blankets,  were  able,  after  a few  days  of 
treatments,  to  walk  away  fully  restored  to 
health. 

During  the  services,  many  of  the  Indians 
would  at  once  take  the  cocaine  leaves  out  of 
their  mouths,  and  throw  them  away.  Soon 
a wonderful  difference  was  noted  in  the 
people  of  that  neighborhood.  They  were 
clean,  and  drunkenness  ceased  almost  wholly 
among  them. 

The  Indians  of  more  remote  regions  soon 
began  to  call  for  us  to  come  and  visit  them. 
We  had  no  saddle  animals  at  that  time,  but 
the  Indians  would  provide  horses  for  us.  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  I borrowed  Chief 
Camacho’s  horse ; and  while  I was  taking  care 
of  some  sick  in  the  village,  the  horse  was 
stolen  from  the  inclosure.  I sent  out  some 
Indian  friends  in  different  directions  to  try 
to  find  it,  I myself  taking  the  main  highway. 

After  I had  gone  about  a mile,  on  looking 
back,  I saw  a man  coming  toward  me  on 
horseback;  and  as  he  came  near  me,  I saw 
that  he  was  mounted  upon  my  borrowed  horse. 

I tried  to  appear  unconcerned,  and  walked 
toward  the  man  at  a leisurely  pace,  hoping  to 
get  near  enough  to  grasp  the  horse’s  bridle. 


A TRANSFORMATION 


131 


When  the  man  was  within  about  fifty  feet  of 
me,  he  suddenly  wheeled  the  horse,  at  the 
same  time  spurring  him  vigorously,  and  gal- 
loped off  at  furious  speed  toward  the  moun- 
tains on  the  other  side  of  the  village. 

As  I was  returning  to  the  village,  I thought 
of  the  borrowed  ax  head  that  was  lost,  as  re- 
corded in  2 Kings  6:5-7;  and  I felt  that  if 
God  would  take  an  interest  in  a borrowed 
ax  head,  He  would  also  have  an  interest  in 
my  borrowed  horse. 

When  I reached  the  house  where  I was 
stopping  in  the  village,  I told  my  host  about 
the  stolen  horse.  “Your  horse  is  here,”  he 
said.  “A  few  moments  ago,  a little  boy  came 
leading  the  horse,  saying  that  a man  had 
asked  him  to  deliver  it  at  this  house.” 

When  we  arrived  at  the  distant  places  to 
which  we  had  been  called,  we  would  find  the 
people  gathered  by  hundreds  with  their  sick 
to  be  treated.  Whole  provinces  were  down 
with  smallpox  and  typhoid  fever. 

At  the  same  time  that  we  were  caring  for 
the  people,  we  carried  on  an  educational  cam- 
paign among  them,  teaching  them  how  to 
keep  well.  We  vaccinated  many,  thus  stay- 
ing the  spread  of  smallpox. 


132  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

In  some  districts,  the  springs  were  the  main 
cause  of  typhoid  epidemics,  the  custom  being 
for  many  of  the  people  to  come  to  one  spring 
and  dip  into  it  their  dirty  jugs  and  jars,  thus 
polluting  the  water.  In  one  of  the  first  places 
where  we  found  typhoid,  we  investigated  the 
spring.  It  was  covered  with  a dirty  scum; 
and  after  removing  this,  we  dug  out  364  toads 
that  had  made  their  home  there.  We  cleaned 
the  spring  out,  and  curbed  it  with  stones,  put- 
ting in  a small  galvanized  iron  pipe,  from 
which  the  people  could  get  water  without  dip- 
ping in  their  jugs  and  jars.  For  years,  there 
has  not  been  a case  of  typhoid  fever  in  that 
district. 

We  also  taught  the  Indians  how  to  take 
care  of  their  sick,  how  to  eliminate  the  ver- 
min that  infested  their  homes,  and  how  to 
give  simple  treatments,  like  fomentations  and 
compresses,  in  fever  cases.  We  found  that 
cleanliness,  with  plenty  of  pure  water  to 
drink,  and  the  simplest  treatments,  worked 
marvels. 

Many  times,  the  people  did  not  wholly  fol- 
low our  instructions  in  reference  to  drinking 
pure  water  and  using  the  simple  compresses 
and  fomentations,  because  it  was  difficult  for 


T»V  « V',  • 


I 


0r 


Indian  Water  Carrier 


(133) 


134  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

them  to  believe  that  clear  water  would  be  a 
help  to  them.  So  we  would  leave  with  them 
a coloring  matter  to  put  into  the  water;  and 
after  that,  they  would  follow  directions  im- 
plicitly, applying  the  compresses  as  instructed. 

The  most  terrible  cases  were  those  of  small- 
pox, and  it  was  usually  black  smallpox  that 
these  Indians  had.  Often  we  were  called  too 
late.  But  we  would  apply  the  cooling  com- 
presses, and  relieve  the  breathing  by  cleans- 
ing their  throats  from  the  bloody  mucus  and 
pus  that  had  gathered,  and  through  our  inter- 
preter, we  would  explain  the  loving-kindness 
of  Jesus,  and  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  pray 
for  them  and  with  them.  Faces  that  had  been 
drawn  with  pain  and  fear  of  death  a moment 
before  would  take  on  a peaceful  look*;  and  in 
many  instances,  a happy  smile  would  spread 
over  them  as  by  faith  the  saving  power  of 
Jesus  was  grasped.  I believe  that  many  of 
these  poor  Indians  were  saved  in  their  very 
last  moments  because  God  took  into  account 
that  they  had  had  no  other  opportunity. 

There  was  once  brought  to  me  a boy  only 
twelve  years  old  whose  sight  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  smallpox  some  years  before,  the 
disease  having  eaten  away  the  very  eyeballs. 


Indian  110  Years  Old,  from  Whom  the  First  Mission 
Land  Was  Purchased 


(135) 


136  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

The  little  fellow  was  crying  bitterly,  and  was 
exclaiming  pitifully,  “ Chamaccowa”  mean- 
ing that  everything  seemed  dark  to  him.  I 
gathered  the  boy  in  my  arms,  holding  my 
face  close  beside  his,  and  explained  to  him 
that  Jesus  knew  all  about  him,  and  that  he 
should  not  grieve  so.  I told  him  that  God 
would  restore  his  sight  in  heaven,  and  that  he 
would  see  beautiful  things,  far  surpassing 
anything  on  this  earth.  The  little  fellow 
stopped  crying,  and  asked  many  intelligent 
questions;  and  I left  him  happy  in  his  new- 
found faith. 

The  following  from  a correspondent  to  the 
Puna  La  Union  of  March  10,  1913,  indicates 
how  some  of  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of 
Plateria  regarded  the  work  of  our  mission 
there : 

“the  INDIANS  AND  THE  PROTESTANTS 

“Juli,  January  20,  1913. 

“Sir  Director: 

“The  Protestants  among  the  Aymaras  of 
these  regions  do  not  mix  with  politics;  they 
concern  themselves  with  making  good  men, 
civilizing  them. 


A TRANSFORMATION  137 

“They  are  not  thinking  of  how  they  may 
combat  the  government  or  get  control  of  it; 
their  mission  is  holier,  nobler,  and  better. 

“The  paper  published  here  tells  better  than 
we  can,  the  facts  gathered  during  a visit  the 
editors  have  just  made  to  the  Indians. 

“We  are  sending  the  clipping  in  question, 
as  correspondents  of  your  weekly  paper.  It 
says: 

* « 

“Having  a great  desire  to  find  means  of 
bettering  the  condition  of  the  Indian,  we 
wished  to  become  informed  of  the  results 
obtained  by  those  employed  by  the  Protes- 
tants; and  with  this  purpose,  we  went  to  La 
Plateria,  which  is  located  on  a hill  on  the  high- 
way from  Acora  to  Puno,  well  populated,  and 
pleasing  in  appearance.  On  either  side  of 
the  road  are  two  buildings  with  galvanized 
roofs,  which  by  their  dimensions,  symmetry  in 
the  location  of  doors  and  windows,  in  a word, 
by  their  structure,  clearly  show  that  those  who 
planned  them  were  something  more  than 
Indians,  and  something  more  than  owners 
of  country  villas.  We  presented  ourselves  at 
one  of  these  places,  and  there  came  out  to 
receive  us  an  Indian  woman  of  some  thirty- 
five  or  forty  years,  with  a baby  in  her  arms. 
We  asked  for  the  Yankee  brethren,  and  she 
told  us  that  they  were  absent.  She  invited 
us  into  a room  where  she  and  her  husband 


138  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

lived.  Within  the  room  were  Bible  pictures 
and  reading  textbooks,  arranged  on  a little 
table,  together  with  a slate  pencil  and  writing 
materials,  rare  things  to  find  in  the  house  of 
an  Indian. 

“With  the  greatest  naturalness,  frankness, 
and  friendliness, — things  almost  never  met 
in  those  of  her  race, — the  Indian  woman  told 
us  of  the  progress  that  had  been  made,  show- 
ing us  photographs  of  brethren  who  in  in- 
creasing numbers  had  been  baptized,  and  of 
the  number  of  marriages  celebrated  among 
them.  In  short,  it  was  a dialogue  in  the 
Aymara  language,  which  we  transfer  to  these 
columns  as  accurately  as  possible. 

“ ‘And  how  do  you  differ  from  the  other 
Indians  of  the  villages  if  you  continue  follow- 
ing the  same  customs  as  they?’  we  asked. 

“‘In  much/  she  answered.  ‘We  never 
drink  alcohol  nor  maize  beer,  neither  do  we 
chew  coca  leaves,  things  so  harmful  for  the 
body  and  the  soul  that  it  is  enough  that  you 
see  these  pictures  to  convince  yourselves/ 
whereat  she  showed  us  some  terrible  figures, 
where  were  represented  in  colors  the  ravages 
of  alcohol  on  the  human  organism,  in  the 
family,  and  in  society.  And  she  told  us  about 
cocaine,  the  poison  that  is  extracted  from  the 
coca  leaves. 

“ ‘And  then  in  the  festivities  of  the  people, 
on  the  days  of  rejoicing,  and  above  all,  at 


Aymara  Indian  Hair  Dressing 


(139) 


140 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INGAS 


marriages  and  funerals,  how  do  you  manage 
it  with  those  who  attend  that  are  not  breth- 


“ ‘Very  simply,  in  two  ways,’  she  replied. 
‘First,  we  do  not  have  feasts  in  honor  of  the 
saints,  nor  wakes  nor  devotions  where  so  much 
is  drunk  and  so  many  crimes  and  sins  are 
committed;  and  secondly,  because  we  sepa- 
rate ourselves  completely  from  the  rest  of 
the  villagers,  and  at  marriages,  and  above  all, 
at  funerals,  where  they  drink  so  much  that 
they  even  profane  the  corpses  and  commit  in- 
decencies over  the  tomb,  we  only  drink  tea 
made  of  sage  or  of  the  camomile,  and  serve 
bread  to  those  who  have  come.’ 

“Thus  she  continued  telling  us  how,  after 
cleansing  of  the  soul,  there  should  follow 
cleansing  of  the  body,  in  fulfillment  of  which 
they  wash  themselves  daily,  and  twice  a week 
wash  their  clothes.  In  truth,  both  she  and  her 
child  were  in  such  a state  of  cleanliness  that 
no  spot  could  be  found.  Going  on,  she  told 
us  of  the  school  of  Brother  Camacho,  where 
she  had  learned  to  read,  and  where  even  the 
elderly  people  attended  and  learned.  Her 
conversation  was  such  that  it  was  a real  pleas- 
ure to  hear  her  speak. 

“At  this  point,  an  Indian  brother  ar- 
rived, who  happily  surprised  us  by  the  clean- 
ness of  his  clothes  and  the  whiteness  of  his 
teeth,  in  a mouth  with  a perfect  smile,  and 


tv* 


(141) 


Indian  Convert  Plowing  with  a Crooked  Stick 


142  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

without  those  dark  green  tints  which  make 
the  mouth  of  every  coca  chewer  so  loathsome. 

“With  him  we  carried  on  a similar  conver- 
sation on  the  same  topics. 

“Our  new  arrival  enthusiastically  sang  sev- 
eral songs  in  a very  acceptable  voice.  We 
were  about  to  leave,  but  the  Indian  offered  us 
lodging,  which  we  could  not  accept,  because 
we  would  have  to  hurry  on ; and  then  he  spoke 
to  us  of  charity  in  this  way: 

“ ‘In  this  world,  nothing  is  ours.  No  one 
can  say  absolutely  that  this  or  that  is  mine; 
no,  because  all  things  earthly  were  made  by 
God,  for  His  children,  mankind,  who  are 
equal,  of  course,  even  though  the  color  of 
their  skin  be  different.  Therefore  we  offer 
our  bread  to  the  traveler,  and  share  our  milk 
with  the  wayfarer.  With  this  purpose  in 
view,  we  are  going  to  build  an  inn  in  which 
to  lodge  travelers,  as  we  now  have  a hospital 
and  medicines  for  all.’ 

“ ‘They  tell  us/  we  said,  ‘that  you  do  not 
obey  the  authorities,  and  hate  the  landlords/ 
‘“It  is  false/  he  responded.  ‘Jesus  said, 
To  Caesar  what  is  Caesar’s,  but  to  God  what 
is  God’s.  So  it  is  that  we  obey  the  authori- 
ties, for  they  also  were  recognized  by  the 
Master,  for  the  order  and  good  of  communi- 
ties. We  do  not  hate  the  landlords,  nor  do 
we  covet  their  property  as  others,  for  by  our 
work  we  get  all  we  need ; and  as  God  does  not 


A TRANSFORMATION 


143 


forget  to  give  daily  food  to  the  birds  of  the 
fields,  neither  will  He  forget  us  who  are  His 
children.’ 

“It  would  be  a long  story  to  tell  all  that  we 
talked  about  with  them,  and  for  the  present 
it  is  sufficient  that  we  make  known  that  such 
is  the  transformation  of  the  Indian,  that  we 
admire  the  consecration  and  energy  the  mis- 
sionaries of  La  Plateria  have  known  how  to 
use  so  liberally,  in  converting  the  Indian  from 
a dirty,  drunken,  insincere,  lazy,  and  savage 
being  into  one  endowed  with  his  right  mind, 
temperate,  a worker,  and  with  such  good 
sentiments  that  we  can  do  no  less  than  send 
to  Mr.  Stahl,  head  of  the  mission,  our  most 
sincere  congratulations,  and  offer  him  the 
modest  aid  of  our  paper  in  favor  of  the  great 
work  that  has  been  planned,  and  whose  benefi- 
cent results  we  have  been  privileged  to  wit- 
ness personally,  only  regretting  that  we  did 
not  have  the  opportunity  of  meeting  him,  to 
greet  him,  to  gather  better  data,  and  more  fully 
to  appreciate  the  uses  for  which  the  large 
buildings  are  designed  that  have  been  con- 
structed by  them  for  the  benefit  of  our  down- 
trodden aboriginal  race,  which  later  will  be 
another  race,  if  such  apostles  as  these  con- 
tinue the  great  work  begun  with  the  faith  of 
those  who  doubt  nothing  when  they  place  at 
the  service  of  helpless  humanity  their  lives 
and  energies. — From  ‘Integridad!  ” 


CHAPTER  VIII 


By  Way  of  Encouragement 

ONE  day,  as  my  wife  and  I were  busy 
treating  the  many  sick  who  came  to 
us  at  the  little  hut  where  we  were  then 
living,  a messenger  appeared,  asking  us  to 
go  and  care  for  the  daughter  of  a chief  who 
lived  up  on  the  mountains.  This  was  about 
ten  o’clock  in  the  morning;  and  because  of 
numerous  grave  cases  that  came  to  us  that 
day,  I was  not  able  to  get  away  until  seven 
o’clock  that  evening.  By  the  time  my  Indian 
guide  and  I reached  the  mountain  top,  I 
could  not  see  my  hand  before  my  face.  I 
noticed  that  the  guide,  instead  of  taking  the 


The  Sick  Coming  to  the  Plateria  Dispensary 
(144) 


BY  WAY  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT 


145 


lead,  as  he  had  done  formerly,  was  lagging 
behind;  and  I asked  him  why  he  did  so.  He 
answered  that  he  had  lost  the  way.  Breath- 
ing a prayer  for  guidance,  I took  the  lead  in 
the  direction  that  I thought  the  chief’s  mes- 
senger had  given  us.  As  I was  hurrying 
along  over  the  rough  ground,  urging  my 
horse  ahead,  suddenly  there  was  a vivid  flash 
of  lightning,  revealing  my  horse’s  feet  within 
six  inches  of  the  brink  of  a terrible  precipice. 
Another  instant  and  I would  have  been 
dashed  down  to  the  rocks  hundreds  of  feet 
below.  I quickly  drew  my  horse  back  and 
dismounted,  thanking  God  for  delivering  me. 
This  was  the  only  flash  of  lightning  that  eve- 
ning; and  I believe  that  God  let  His  light 
shine  over  my  path  to  guide  my  footsteps. 

We  made  our  way  carefully  down  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain,  and  the  barking  of  dogs 
soon  revealed  that  we  were  approaching  the 
huts  of  some  Indians.  This  proved  to  be 
where  the  chief  lived.  We  passed  the  night 
at  his  house,  returning  to  the  mission  the  fol- 
lowing morning. 

We  had  to  do  considerable  minor  surgery, 
and  the  confidence  the  Indians  put  in  us  was 
really  wonderful.  They  thought  we  were 


10 


146  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

able  to  do  almost  everything.  Many  a one 
has  come  to  us,  telling  us  that  he  had  pains 
in  his  chest,  and  asking  if  we  would  not  please 
cut  out  his  lungs  and  heart.  At  other  times, 
some  would  ask  for  memory  medicine,  or  for 
medicine  to  make  them  good. 

The  Indians  will  stand  any  amount  of  pain 
if  they  are  treated  kindly.  Many  times,  away 
out  in  the  mountains,  our  supply  of  anaes- 
thetics has  run  out,  and  we  have  had  to  per- 
form mftior  operations  without  any. 

There  once  came  to  us  a chief  from  a dis- 
tant region,  who  had  had  his  middle  finger 
torn  off,  it  having  become  entangled  in  a 
rope  attached  to  an  ox  that  became  fright- 
ened. In  his  crude  way,  he  had  tried  to  cure 
the  finger  by  tying  over  it  a piece  of  sheep’s 
liver.  When  he  came  to  us,  over  a month 
afterward,  his  hand  had  become  badly  in- 
fected through  the  decaying  liver.  We  had 
no  anaesthetic  on  hand  at  that  time;  and  I ex- 
plained to  the  man  what  would  have  to  be 
done  in  order  to  save  his  hand,  if  not  his  life. 

I told  him  that  it  was  going  to  hurt,  but  that 
we  would  not  hurt  him  any  more  than  was  * 
positively  necessary.  While  talking  to  him,  I 
put  my  arm  around  him;  and  when  I had 


(147) 


Our  First  Mission  House  Going  Up  at  Plateria 


148  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

finished  explaining  to  him,  he  put  out  his 
injured  hand  to  me,  and  said,  “Father,  you 
can  go  right  ahead  and  do  what  you  think  is 
best.”  Then,  taking  from  his  head  a woolen 
cap  such  as  the  Indians  in  that  region  always 
wear,  he  crowded  it  into  his  mouth  as  far  as 
possible.  I asked  my  interpreter  what  the 
man  meant  by  this.  “Oh,”  he  said,  “he  is 
stuffing  his  mouth  full  so  that  he  will  not  cry 
out  and  will  have  something  to  bite  on!”  I 
removed  the  finger  at  the  last  joint,  cut  away 
the  putrid  flesh,  applied  the  antiseptics,  and 
bandaged  the  stump.  The  man  never 
flinched. 

Hundreds  of  the  Indians  come  to  us  with 
aching  teeth.  We  never  took  any  training 
in  dentistry  in  the  States,  and  did  not  even 
know  how  to  pull  a tooth.  But  we  sent  for 
some  forceps,  and  as  soon  as  they  came,  we 
proceeded  to  use  them. 

The  Indians  are  great  missionaries  them- 
selves. As  they  travel  about  from  place  to 
place,  they  are  always  telling  others  about 
the  gospel;  and  not  a Sabbath  passes  but  some 
bring  strangers  to  church.  Sometimes  an  In- 
dian will  have  hold  of  the  hands  of  two  other 
Indians,  half  leading  them  and  half  dragging 


BY  WAY  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT  149 

them  to  the  front  part  of  the  church.  Then 
he  will  say,  “Pastor,  here  are  two  new  broth- 
ers.” We  go  down  to  these  new  people,  who 
are  so  bashful,  and  shake  hands  with  them, 
and  make  them  feel  at  home.  This  has  helped 
materially  to  bring  up  the  work. 

Soon  our  Sabbath  attendance  reached  an 
average  of  six  hundred  persons;  and  erelong 
many  of  them  were  baptized,  and  we  had  the 
privilege  of  organizing  a church.  We  held 
our  Sabbath  meetings  out  of  doors  at  that 
time,  not  having  any  church  building. 

In  our  work  for  the  Indians,  we  have  not 
carried  the  idea  that  to  be  a Christian  is  to 
have  a long  face,  and  not  have  legitimate  en- 
joyment. We  call  the  Indians  in  our  dis- 
tricts together  every  two  or  three  months  for 
a day  of  diversion  and  sociability.  On  these 
occasions,  they  bring  their  lunches  with  them, 
and  make  a day  of  it. 

We  have  introduced  different  athletic 
games,  and  the  Indians  are  much  interested 
in  these.  Football,  while  not  carried  on  “ac- 
cording to  Hoyle,”  has  been  a source  of  great 
enjoyment  to  them.  We  have  swings  for  the 
children,  and  foot  races  and  tests  of  strength 
for  the  men. 


150  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

At  one  time,  thinking  to  have  a tug  of  war, 
I called  for  a large,  strong  rope,  and  the 
Indians  brought  me  one  of  thick  leather.  I 
explained  the  game  to  them,  drawing  a line 
across  the  yard,  and  placed  twenty  young  men 
on  each  end  of  the  rope.  They  pulled  most 
vigorously;  and  the  spectators  became  so  ex- 
cited that  they  forgot  themselves  so  far  as  to 
take  sides  with  their  friends,  until  there  were 
about  a hundred  on  each  side.  Mothers, 
daughters,  and  sweethearts  took  part.  As  all 
were  laughing  and  pulling  enthusiastically, 
the  rope  parted  in  the  middle,  and  a greater 
scrambling  you  never  saw. 

The  Indians  are  very  fond  of  music;  and 
after  we  had  been  among  them  about  a year, 
the  young  men  asked  us  to  send  to  the  United 
States  for  some  band  instruments  for  them. 
We  did  so,  and  soon  we  had  a large  band 
fitted  out  with  cornets,  clarinets,  bass  horns, 
and  cymbals.  I can  tell  you  there  is  not  an- 
other band  in  all  the  world  that  can  beat  it 
for  noise. 

We  found  the  Indians  an  intellectual  peo- 
ple, notwithstanding  the  general  belief  that 
they  were  stupid.  Their  stupidity  went  only 
as  far  as  their  vices  went.  As  soon  as  they 


BY  WAY  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT  151 

left  oft*  these  vices,  and  were  healed  of  their 
diseases,  they  were  as  capable  a people  as 
could  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world. 

They  have  good  reasoning  powers.  The 
following  case  will  illustrate  this  fact: 


Our  First  Choir  Among  the  Indians 


While  one  of  our  Sabbath  meetings  was  in 
progress,  a priest  rode  up,  and  dismounting, 
took  a seat  among  the  people.  As  he  listened, 
he  became  very  nervous.  The  lesson  was  on 
true  Sabbath  observance,  being  an  explana- 
tion of  the  fourth  commandment.  After  the 
priest  had  listened  for  a few  minutes,  he  sud- 
denly rose,  and  said  in  a loud  voice,  in  the 


152  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

Indian  language:  “This  is  all  false.  The 
seventh-day  Sabbath  is  an  old  institution,  and 
was  done  away  long  ago.  It  does  not  serve 
us  any  more.  It  is  too  old.” 

As  he  stopped  a moment  for  breath,  one 
of  the  Indians  arose  in  the  audience,  and  said, 
“Mr.  Priest,  you  say  that  the  Sabbath  is  too 
old,  that  it  does  not  serve  us  any  more?” 
“Yes,  I did,”  yelled  the  priest. 

“Well,  now,  Mr.  Priest,”  the  Indian  con- 
tinued, “the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  are 
old;  but  God  made  them,  and  they  still  serve 
us.  Why  should  the  Sabbath  not  serve  us, 
too,  even  though  it  is  old?  God  made  that, 
didn’t  He?” 

The  priest  did  not  answer  a word,  but  im- 
mediately mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off,  and 
has  never  since  been  seen'  in  that  district. 

In  their  natural  sphere,  the  Indians  are  far 
ahead  of  the  white  men.  They  are  able  to 
trace  a thief  for  miles  over  the  rough  moun- 
tains; and  if  a footprint  shows  plainly  in  the 
dust,  they  can  determine  with  ease  to  whom 
the  foot  belongs.  They  can  tell  the  exact 
time  by  the  sun,  and  they  know  weather  con- 
ditions perfectly.  On  one  occasion,  as  we 


(153) 


A Group  of  Straw  Boats  on  Lake  Titicaca 


154  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

were  starting  out  in  our  boat  to  visit  some  of 
the  Indians  who  lived  on  the  little  peninsula 
extending  into  Lake  Titicaca,  an  old  Indian 
standing  near  warned  us  not  to  go,  telling  us 
that  in  a few  hours  the  lake  would  be  very 
rough.  We  could  not  understand  why  he 
should  say  this,  because  we  saw  no  indication 
of  coming  storm.  We  questioned  him,  and  he 
asked,  “Don’t  you  see  the  way  those  clouds 
are  hanging?”  He  tried,  in  his  simple  way, 
to  explain  to  us;  but  we  did  not  believe  him, 
and  started  on  our  voyage.  In  a few  hours, 
we  had  reason  to  regret  our  decision;  for  the 
waves  ran  so  high  that  our  boat  capsized,  and 
we  were  nearly  drowned. 

These  Indians  are  generous  and  noble- 
hearted.  One  day  when  I had  made  a trip 
into  the  mountains  to  visit  some  sick  people, 
night  overtook  me  before  I could  return  to 
the  mission.  I asked  permission  from  some 
Indians  who  lived  on  the  mountain  to  pass 
the  night  in  their  hut.  They  gave  me  a place 
to  sleep;  but  as  soon  as  I lay  down,  I began 
to  cough.  The  woman  of  the  house  brought 
a large  blanket,  and  covered  me  carefully; 
still  I continued  to  cough.  In  a few  moments, 


BY  WAY  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT  155 

she  brought  in  another  blanket,  and  put  that 
also  over  me.  I coughed  again,  and  she  added 
a third  blanket.  As  these  blankets  were  made 
of  llama  wool,  they  were  very  heavy,  weigh- 
ing from  ten  to  twelve  pounds  each.  I could 
not  keep  from  coughing ; and  the  woman 
brought  a blanket  every  time  I coughed,  until 
she  had  put  nine  blankets  over  me. 

At  another  time,  I was  out  on  the  plains 
with  my  two  Indian  guides,  expecting  to  be 
able  to  return  to  some  friends  before  night- 
fall; but  night  overtook  us,  and  it  was  very 
dark,  and  we  had  to  stop.  We  were  not  pre- 
pared to  spend  the  night  out;  but  we  took  the 
few  saddle  pads  we  had,  and  spread  them  on 
the  ground,  and  I lay  down  with  a guide  on 
each  side  of  me.  They  explained  that  I 
should  lie  in  the  middle  so  that  they  could 
protect  me  from  the  cold.  After  about  half 
an  hour,  I heard  whisperings  between  the  two 
guides,  and  wondered  what  it  signified.  They 
evidently  thought  I was  fast  asleep.  Then 
they  took  off  their  outer  clothing,  and  covered 
me  with  it.  They  were  content  and  happy 
to  suffer  the  cold  all  night  in  order  to  do  me 
this  kindness. 


A#  ■ 


156  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

The  Indians  have  superior  business  ethics 
also.  For  some  time  after  I arrived  here,  I 
had  to  buy  certain  supplies  from  them,  such 
as  standing  barley  for  the  horses.  Many  a 
time,  as  I suggested  a price  for  the  produce, 
the  owner  would  say,  “No,  brother,  that  is 
too  much;  pay  me  so  much,”  naming  an 
amount  far  less  than  I had  offered  to  him. 


CHAPTER  IX 


‘ 6 Christianity”  That  Is  Not  Christian 

AFTER  we  had  been  three  or  four  months 
in  this  region,  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests  commenced  fierce  and  system- 
atic persecution  against  us  and  the  Indians. 
These  priests  would  announce  their  feasts,  and 
send  out  their  messengers  to  demand  the 
presence  of  the  people,  as  they  had  done 
formerly;  hut  as  the  Indians  had  given  up 
the  use  of  alcohol,  they  did  not  choose  to  go 
to  the  feasts.  Where  there  had  been  formerly 
an  attendance  of  several  thousands,  soon 
there  were  not  even  a hundred  present. 
Though  not  all  the  Indians  at  once  accepted 
the  gospel,  they  did  cease  to  permit  the  priests 
to  deceive  them.  The  priests  went  from  house 
to  house  personally,  pleading  with  the  people, 
begging  them  to  attend  the  feasts;  and  when 
they  would  not  go,  the  priests  threatened  and 
even  beat  many  of  them. 

There' was  no  religious  liberty  in  Peru  in 
those  days,  not  even  tolerance  of  other  than 
the  state  religion.  We  were  regarded  as  law- 
breakers. We  were  insulted  on  every  hand; 
stones  were  thrown  at  us;  and  when  we  went 


158  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

through  the  villages,  often  the  streets  were 
blocked  by  the  people,  and  as  we  passed  by, 
our  horses  were  struck  with  clubs,  and  we 
were  threatened  with  death.  Our  Indian 
brethren  were  in  some  instances  beaten  almost 
to  death.  At  one  time,  a priest  and  three 
other  men  went  to  the  house  of  one  of  the 
Indians  who  would  not  attend  the  feasts,  and 
threatened  him  with  death,  in  an  attempt  to 
make  him  promise  that  he  would  attend  the 
next  feast.  But  this  man,  Juan  Huanca  by 
name,  refused  to  promise,  saying  that  he  did 
not  drink  alcohol  any  more.  At  this,  the 
priests  began  to  kick  him,  and  picking  up  a 
large  club,  struck  him  several  times  across  the 
chest  with  it,  and  left  him  lying  on  the  ground 
for  dead.  The  Indian’s  only  answer  was, 
“You  can  kill  the  body,  but  you  can’t  kill 
the  soul,”  and  he  would  not  promise.  For 
months,  he  lay  between  life  and  death.  I 
attended  him,  and  am  glad  to  say  that  even- 
tually he  recovered.  This  is  but  one  of  the 
many  hundreds  of  such  instances. 

The  Indians  many  times  were  severely 
misused  by  the  saloon  keepers  and  their  col- 
leagues. As  one  of  our  Indian  teachers  was 
going  through  a village,  he  was  taken  forcibly. 


(159) 


Dariteo,  One  of  Our  Indian  Teachers 


160  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

into  a saloon  by  three  men,  who  tried  to  com- 
pel him  to  drink  a glass  of  liquor.  While  two 
of  the  men  held  him,  the  third  placed  the 
glass  to  his  lips.  But  the  Indian  succeeded 
in  freeing  one  of  his  hands;  and  in  defending 
himself,  he  dashed  the  glass  into  the  man’s 
own  face.  Instead  of  being  angry,  the  man 
immediately  told  the  others  to  release  the 
Indian,  and  commended  him  for  his  resistance. 

One  of  the  Indians  who  had  given  up  the 
alcohol  habit,  was  working  for  one  of  the 
large  landowners  near  the  mission.  One 
evening,  three  men  seized  him,  threw  him  to 
the  ground,  pried  his  mouth  open  with  a stick, 
and  poured  a bottle  of  alcohol  down  his 
throat.  He  became  intoxicated,  and  was  ill 
as  a result  of  his  rough  treatment. 

As  I was  going  through  a large  village,  the 
people  on  the  streets  called  after  me  in  the 
Indian  language,  of  which  at  that  time  I did 
not  understand  much.  My  little  son,  who  was 
with  me,  understood  the  language,  and  spoke 
it  readily.  As  we  proceeded  down  the  street, 
the  people  continued  to  call  after  us.  I sup- 
posed that  they  were  greeting  me,  and  I 
nodded  my  head  from  side  to  side  to  them, 
and  answered,  “JVho-mar-es-ca-ma-ki”  which 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  161 

is  the  usual  response  to  a greeting,  and  means, 
“The  same  to  you.” 

After  we  reached  the  other  end  of  the  vil- 
lage, my  son  asked,  “Papa,  do  you  know  what 
those  people  were  calling  after  you?” 

I answered,  “No,  my  son,  I do  not.” 
“Why,”  he  said,  “they  were  calling  you 
devil,  and  all  manner  of  bad  things,  and  said 
you  had  horns;  and  you  said,  ‘The  same  to 
you/  ” 

No  one  molested  me  when  I returned  to 
that  village.  Somehow  I was  reminded  of  a 
text  in  the  fifth  of  Matthew,  which  says, 
“Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly.” 

Every  day,  there  came  to  us  messages 
warning  us  that  we  were  going  to  be  killed. 
About  this  time,  we  bought  from  one  of  the 
Indians  a small  piece  of  land  upon  which  to 
erect  some  very  necessary  mission  buildings  — 
a small  hospital,  a school  building,  and  a 
dwelling  house.  As  soon  as  we  started  to 
put  the  buildings  up,  the  priest  became  very 
active  to  hinder  the  work  in  every  way.  Word 
was  sent  out  that  an}^  one  who  would  work 
on  these  buildings  was  to  be  arrested,  and 
that  if  we  did  not  desist  at  once,  we  would  be 
killed.  But  we  kept  right  on  working.  I 


162  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

cannot  say  that  these  evil  reports,  coming,  as 
they  did,  every  day,  had  no  effect  upon  us. 
At  times,  we  felt  decidedly  apprehensive, 
especially  upon  the  feast  days,  when  large 
crowds  from  the  village  would  gather  where 
we  were  building,  and  curse  and  throw  stones 
at  our  people.  At  first,  our  people  wanted  to 
retaliate;  but  we  explained  to  them  that  these 
poor  souls  knew  not  what  they  were  doing, 
and  that  we  were  to  remember  what  our  dear 
Saviour  passed  through  for  our  sakes,  and 
should  work  on  quietly,  and  when  stones  wTere 
thrown,  seek  shelter  as  best  we  could.  This 
they  did. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  bishop  of  Puno, 
named  Ampuero,  with  a mob  of  two  hundred 
men,  all  on  horseback,  came  out  to  the  mis- 
sion. It  so  happened  that  Mrs.  Stahl  and  I 
were  not  there  at  the  time,  having  gone  to 
buy  some  supplies.  The  first  thing  the  bishop 
did  was  to  take  the  keys  away  from  our  care- 
taker, and  appropriate  some  things,  and  break 
up  others. 

Then  the  mob  tried  to  compel  the  Indians 
living  about  the  mission  to  kneel  before  the 
bishop  and  kiss  his  hand.  This  they  refused 
to  do,  however;  whereupon  the  bishop  became 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  163 

enraged,  and  told  the  people  to  bind  the  In- 
dians with  stout  leather  cords  and  make  pris- 
oners of  them.  Six  of  our  Indian  brethren 
were  bound  arm  to  arm,  and  driven,  hatless 
and  coatless,  to  Puno,  twenty-one  miles  dis- 
tant. On  the  way,  the  mob  beat  them,  and 
tried  to  ride  over  them  with  their  horses.  At 
Puno,  the  Indians  were  thrown  into  jail. 

As  soon  as  we  received  notice  of  the  affair, 
we  immediately  went  to  Puno,  taking  food 
to  our  Indian  brethren  who  were  in  jail,  and 
otherwise  attending  to  their  needs.  Then  we 
called  upon  the  most  prominent  people  of  the 
city  in  their  behalf.  The  bishop  accused  these 
Indians  of  having  assaulted  him  with  clubs. 
We  visited  the  judges,  and  other  officials  of 
the  court,  explaining  to  them  that  these  In- 
dians did  not  drink  alcohol  any  more,  and 
that  they  were  accused  falsely  by  the  bishop. 

As  the  last  day  of  the  trial  approached, 
and  the  judge  was  to  give  his  final  verdict,  I 
went  to  see  him,  explaining  to  him  the  work 
that  had  been  done  for  the  Indians,  and  told 
him  courteously  that  some  day  he  would  be 
called  before  the  great  judgment  seat  of  God, 
and  would  have  to  answer  for  the  judgment 


164  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

rendered  upon  these  poor,  misused  people. 
He  seemed  to  be  impressed,  and  told  me,  as 
I left  him,  that  he  would  judge  the  impris- 
oned Indians  justly.  And  he  did;  for  that 
afternoon,  he  released  them  from  prison. 

The  Puno  La  Union  thus  reports  this  ex- 
perience of  the  Indians,  and  comments  upon 
it,  in  its  issue  of  March  10,  1913: 

“the  IMPRISONMENT  OF  THE  PROTESTANTS 

“On  learning  that  the  Protestant  natives 
from  La  Plateria  had  been  brought  from 
Chucuito  to  the  police  station  of  this  city,  we 
went  to  interview  the  subprefect  of  the  Cer- 
cado  to  gather  data  as  to  their  imprisonment. 

“The  subprefect  informed  us  that  these 
natives  had  failed  to  recognize  the  fact  that 
the  very  illustrious  bishop  was  a prelate,  and 
neither  had  they  recognized  the  political  au- 
thorities. 

“On  inquiry,  on  our  part,  if  there  was 
some  definite  act  revealing  such  lack  of  recog- 
nition, he  replied  that  we  should  speak  with 
his  lordship  the  prefect,  which  we  said  we 
would  not  do,  for  various  reasons.  Then  he 
told  us  he  had  asked  for  a report  from  his 


(165) 


Indians  and  Shrine  Before  a Church  Near  Cuzco 


166  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

very  illustrious  majesty  the  bishop,  and  that 
when  he  went  to  Chucuito  with  public  author- 
ity, he  found  that  these  natives  had  been  made 
prisoners. 

“Afterward,  we  went  to  the  police  station 
to  interview  these  unhappy  Indians,  and  from 
them  we  obtained  the  following  version: 

“ ‘I,’  said  Camacho,  ‘taking  a bottle  of  salts, 
went  with  this  remedy  to  see  one  of  our 
sick  brethren,  when  his  very  illustrious  maj- 
esty the  bishop  arrived  at  my  house  with  two 
hundred  individuals  on  foot  and  mounted, 
finding  there  only  my  son  of  eleven  years,  who 
told  him  that  I had  left  the  house.’  At  once 
they  carried  the  son  away  a prisoner,  first, 
however,  entering  Mr.  Stahl’s  house,  gather- 
ing more  prisoners,  whom  they  asked  the 
reason  why  they  no  longer  cared  to  observe 
the  religious  feasts,  etc. 

“As  soon  as  Camacho  heard  of  the  invasion 
of  the  district,  he  hastened  to  interview  the 
illustrious  bishop,  who  refused  to  answer  or 
greet  him.  Immediately  made  a prisoner,  he 
was  taken  with  the  rest  to  the  prison  in  Chu- 
cuito, where  they  were  allowed  no  food,  being 
brought  afterward  to  this  town  as  best  they 
could  be. 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  167 

“We  hope  to  get  the  official  facts  that  may 
shed  more  light  on  this  extraordinary  hap- 
pening. 

“Just  in  these  moments  we  are  informed 
that  the  arrested  natives  have  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  public  prison. 

“will  there  be  justice? 

“The  detained  natives  are  still  in  jail! 

“What  is  happening  is  unheard-of! 

“A  proof  that  the  authorities  here  are  a 
danger  and  never  a protection,  is  the  fact  that 
the  Protestant  natives,  victims  of  religious 
persecution,  are  still  imprisoned,  locked  up  by 
the  unconscionable  action  of  the  conscience- 
less authorities. 

“If  the  judiciary  do  not  manifest  them- 
selves just  and  inflexible  this  time,  granting 
guaranties  to  some  Indians  who  are  apostles 
of  the  regeneration  of  their  race,  we  will 
have  to  turn  nihilists,  that  is,  proclaim  the 
abolition  of  all  authority. 

“But  fortunately  we  have  here  men  of 
strength  who  are  disposed  to  defend  our 
liberties  with  the  holy  lash  of  strong  words, 
and  capable  of  lambasting  the  despots  who 
make  of  public  authority  their  paper  armor. 


168  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

“We  are  not  alone.  The  honorable  press, 
which  is  the  exponent  of  the  culture  we  have 
gained  in  Peru,  will  know  how  to  fulfill  its 
mission  in  the  face  of  such  enormous  abuses 
of  right,  liberty,  and  the  culture  of  our  land. 

“Judges,  if  you  know  how  to  judge,  give 
proof  of  it,  by  administering  on  tins  occasion 
a quick,  prompt,  and  impartial  justice,  that 
there  may  not  fall  on  you  and  yours  the  curse 
of  the  victims  and  their  children. 

“Are  you  fathers  of  families?  So  are  they 
also. 

“It  is  not  now  the  arbitrary  imprisonment 
into  which  citizens  were  thrown  in  Huancane, 
through  the  action  of  military  judgment 
which  proved  itself  unlawful. 

“Neither  is  it  the  assassinations  which  the 
governor  of  Inchupalla  perpetrated  with  his 
now  fugitive  band. 

“It  is  something  more,  which  is  happening 
in  another  center,  nearer  this  capital  of  the 
department,  iiKwhich  its  highest  political  and 
ecclesiastical  authorities,  by  mutual  agree- 
ment, are  following  the  forbidden  road  of 
iniquitous  vandalism. 

’ “It  is  known  that  in  the  section  of  La  Pla- 
teria,  six  leagues  from  this  capital,*  the  al- 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  169 

truism  of  a Yankee  has  established  a center 
of  evangelical  propaganda  with  such  results 
that  in  three  years  of  beneficent  labor,  the 
Indian  has  been  made  a useful  being,  free 
from  the  vices  that  so  much  characterize  his 
race. 

“The  evangelized  Indian  does  not  drink 
alcohol,  he  does  not  chew  coca  leaves,  he  is 
clean,  he  is  moral;  and  now  he  can  read,  he 


The  First  Baptism  Among  the  Indians 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


170 

has  acquired  habits  of  order  and  a desire  to 
work,  or  he  is  sociable  and  exercises  charity. 
They  have  a large  ranch,  a school,  a hospital, 
and  an  inn  for  lodging. 

“This  highly  beneficial  work  for  the  regen- 
eration of  the  Indian,  which  receives  favorable 
notice  even  in  distant  sections,  has  been 
menaced  by  the  diocesan  zeal  of  Bishop  Mon- 
senor  Ampuero,  who  in  person,  and  accom- 
panied by  some  poor  devils  from  the  town  of 
Chucuito,  in  an  infernal  cavalcade  like  the 
hosts  of  a new  Attila,  set  out  to  pursue  the 
Indians;  let  it  not  be  thought  to  persuade 
them  by  word  or  example  — no;  but  to  hale 
them  to  prison  after  maltreating  them.  They 
were  bound,  and  then  taken  to  the  jail  in 
Chucuito,  whence  the  subprefect  of  the  prison 
ordered  them  brought  under  guard  to  this 
capital,  lodging  them  in  the  police  station. 
The  very  illustrious  bishop  returned  to  the 
interior  of  the  peninsula,  bent  on  the  same 
kind  of  mission. 

“Following  this  extraordinary  procedure, 
a general  indignation  has  arisen,  even  among 
members  of  the  police  force. 

“Where  are  we? 


BP**'  m 

“CHRISTIANITY”  NOT  CHRISTIAN  171 

“Does  his  lordship  the  prefect  believe  that 
such  affronts  may  be  made  against  individual 
liberty,  human  dignity,  and  the  Bill  of 
Rights? 

“La  Union  will  not  be  the  only  organ  of 
the  press  that  condemns  such  reprehensible 
acts.  The  whole  press  of  .the  republic  will 
follow,  when  the  enormity  of  the  facts  is 

known. 

“What  crime  is  it  to  be  a ‘Protestant,’  that 
is,  to  enjoy  the  natural  liberty  of  conscience? 

“Is  it  a social  evil,  this  work  of  dignifying 
the  race  and  lifting  it  to  the  station  of  a man 
who  is  conscientious  and  useful  to  society? 

“God  forbid! 

“The  progressive  towns,  such  as  Puno,  if 
they  recognize  it  well,  have  that  which  au- 
thorizes them  to  protest,  in  the  name  of  moral- 
ity and  the  laws,  against  the  way  the  prefect 
Torres  Angulo  has  favored  the  very  illustrious 
bishop  Monsenor  Ampuero  in  the  unlawful 
and  barbaric  acts  of  which  we  are  speaking. 

“It  is  apparent  that  this  department,  with- 
out local  government,  because  of  the  hastily 
provided  principal  and  other  authorities,  needs 
to  petition  the  government  now  directing  the 
destinies  of  the  country  that  officials  be  sent 


172  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

here  who  are  acquainted  with  the  local  needs 
and  are  well  informed  of  the  spirit  of  the 
laws.  Ignorance  is  a danger  in  the  matter 
of  administration.” 

A LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  CAMACHO 

“Puno  Prison,  March  7,  1913. 
“Senor  Doctor  Don  Isaac  Deza, 

“City. 

“Esteemed  Doctor: 

“May  peace  and  health  be  yours  in  the 
bosom  of  your  estimable  family. 

“I  am  in  this  prison  separated  from  my 
tender  children,  who  have  lost  their  mother, 
and  I do  not  know  how  they  are  faring. 

“I  entreat  you  to  act  as  lawyer  for  those 
of  us  who  have  been  thrown  into  prison  by 
Bishop  Don  Valentin  Ampuero,  who,  ac- 
companied by  the  governor  and  two  justices 
of  the  peace  from  Chucuito,  came  to  that 
place  with  that  object. 

“The  circumstances  were  as  follows: 

“The  third  of  this  month,  Bishop  Don 
Valentin  Ampuero,  accompanied  by  Governor 
Don  Jose  Sotomayor  and  two  justices  of  the 
peace  of  Chucuito,  with  more  than  two  hun- 
dred men  from  among  the  residents  of  said 
town  and  the  Indians  from  various  ranches, 


(173) 


Indian  Families  Returning  from  Market,  Puno,  Peru 


174 


IN  THE,  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


broke  into  my  home,  where  they  found  only 
my  young  children,  since  I had  left  the  house. 
Believing  that  I had  hidden  myself,  they 
broke  down  the  doors;  but  not  finding  me, 
they  carried  my  minor  son,  Patricio,  away  a 
prisoner.  After  breaking  into  the  homes  of 
other  native  Protestants,  they  turned  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Stahl,  where  they  found  the  serv- 
ant Jacinto  Tarqui,  from  whom  they  secured 
the  keys;  and  opening  the  rooms,  they  broke 
up  the  furniture.  Then  they  called  out  of 
their  houses  other  natives,  to  ask  them  where 
the  Yankee  was,  and  at  once  told  them  that 
all  who  were  not  of  the  gospel  belief  should 
go  to  one  side,  and  that  the  believers  should 
be  seized,  which  was  done  with  the  eight  of  us 
who  are  here  imprisoned.  As  soon  as  I pre- 
sented myself  before  the  bishop,  he  called  me 
a heretic,  and  ordered  that  I also  should  be 
seized,  the  eight  of  11s  being  brought  in  such 
harassed  condition  to  the  jail  in  Chucuito, 
whence  we  were  conducted  to  this  city  by  a 
force  of  gendarmes  sent  for  the  purpose. 

“I  inclose  a list  of  the  residents  who  accom- 
panied the  bishop. 

“Respectfully  yours, 

“M.  Z.  Camacho." 


“CHRISTIANITY”  NOT  CHRISTIAN  175 

Peru  is  a Catholic  state,  and  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism is  the  state  religion.  Up  to  Novem- 
ber, 1915,  the  constitution  of  Peru  made  it 
possible  to  banish  from  the  country  for  three 
years  any  one  who  held  religious  services  other 
than  Catholic.  In  the  larger  cities  near  the 
coast,  the  law  has  been  rarely  appealed  to ; but 
in  the  interior,  and  especially  where  Protes- 
tant missionaries  have  been  helping  to  lift  the 
Indians  to  a higher  life,  the  priests  and  the 
landlords  and  the  zealots  have  been  stirred  as 
they  have  seen  their  hold  upon  the  Indians 
slipping,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  reverence. 
But  the  attitude  of  the  priests  toward  this 
work  has  roused  a sense  of  justice  and  equal- 
ity and  sympathy  for  the  Indians  in  good 
men,  who  have  protested  against  the  intoler- 
ance of  the  priesthood.  The  following  docu- 
ment is  an  indication  of  the  growth  of  this 
sentiment;  it  speaks  for  itself. 

“supreme  government  decree 

“Lima,  September  2,  1914. 

“After  having  reviewed  the  attached  record 
of  the  cause  pursued  by  virtue  of  the  petition 
presented  by  the  secretary  of  the  Pro- 
Indigena  Association,  complaining  of  the 


176  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


abuse  of  which  the  aborigine  Claudio  de  la 
Cruz  has  been  the  victim,  from  whom  it  is 
attempted  to  exact  payment  of  a fine  because 
he  refused  to  discharge  gratis  the  burden  of 
steward  of  a certain  religious  feast  due  to  be 
celebrated  in  the  village  of  Otao,  province  of 
Huarochiri;  and — 

“ Whereas , It  is  a primordial  guarantee 
recognized  in  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
article  14,  that  no  one  is  obliged  to  do  that 
which  the  law  does  not  demand,  nor  prohibited 
from  doing  that  which  the  law  does  not  for- 
bid; and  — 

“Whereas,  In  violation  of  this  fundamental 
precept,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  compel 
the  Indian,  De  la  Cruz,  to  furnish,  out  of  his 
own  private  property,  the  expenses  of  a re- 
ligious festivity,  and  for  his  having  resisted 
this  imposition,  the  trustee  of  the  community, 
the  constable,  and  the  police  judge  have  im- 
posed on  him  a fine  of  eighty  soles  ($38.93 
U.  S.),  with  the  threat  of  exclusion  from  the 
village  commons  in  case  of  default;  and  — 

“Whereas,  The  intervention  in  these  mat- 
ters by  the  aforementioned  public  authorities 
amounts  to  the  misdemeanor  of  ‘exaction’ 
penalized  by  the  law  of  October  21,  1897,  as 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  177 

provided  in  article  202  of  the  penal  code; 
and  — 

“Whereas,  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  the 
government  to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of 
things,  liberating  the  Indian  race  from  these 
antiquated  practices  which  oblige  them  to  bear 
unjustifiable  expenses; 

“In  harmony  with  the  decision  of  the  De- 
partment of  Government  and  Municipalities, 
and  the  report  of  the  attorney-general,  it  is  — 

“Resolved,  1.  That  it  be  declared  as  a 
general  rule,  that  the  burden  of  steward  of 
feasts  celebrated  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  Indian  villages,  is  not  obligatory; 


Catholic  Church  at  Laraos  Where  Meetings  Were 
Held  by  Our  Missionaries 


12 


178  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

“2.  That  all  public  authorities  of  whatever 
character  be  absolutely  prohibited  from  any 
intermeddling  in  the  designation  of  such 
stewards  or  in  the  performance  of  this  bur- 
den; and  — 

“3.  That  the  prefects  of  departments  be 
charged  with  special  vigilance  concerning  such 
abuses  of  this  nature  as  may  be  coVnmitted, 
and  with  the  duty  of  instituting  against  those 
responsible  for  same,  proper  criminal  process. 

“It  is  ordered  that  this  decree  be  registered, 
circulated,  published,  and  filed. 

“Rubric  of  His  Excellency  (President). 

“By  Fuchs  (Prime  Minister) 

Owing  to  the  oppression  of  the  Indians 
near  Lake  Titicaca  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
bishop  of  Puno,  contrary  to  the  counsel  of 
some  of  his  coreligionists,  a senator  from  that 
department  introduced  a bill  into  the  na- 
tional Congress  so  to  amend  the  constitution 
as  to  give  religious  liberty  to  all  denomina- 
tions. The  matter  dragged  along  till  Novem- 
ber, 1915,  when  it  passed  Congress.  At  the 
first  reading  of  the  bill  in  the  Senate,  there 
were  only  four  dissenting  votes,  and  three  of 
these  were  from  Catholic  priests.  At  the 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  179 

second  reading,  that  church  put  forth  strong 
efforts  to  defeat  it.  After  two  years  of  such 
work,  but  twelve  votes  could  be  mustered  in 
the  house  against  the  bill.  November  11,  it 
passed  and  was  officially  promulgated  by 
Congress.  The  balconies  of  the  chamber  were 
crowded  with  women,  priests,  and  boys  from 
the  convent  schools.  The  president  was  be- 
sieged with  petitions  to  veto  the  bill,  but  he 
neither  signed  nor  vetoed  it.  Upon  its  pro- 
mulgation, the  bill  became  law.  The  follow- 
ing is  a picture  of  what  occurred  when  the 
bill  passed  the  house  in  November,  as  given 
by  Dr.  William  O.  Stunt,  superintendent  of 
the  Peru  District  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  taken  from  the  Christian  Advocate 
(New  York)  of  January  6,  1916: 

“When  the  leader  of  the  reform  movement, 
Senor  Quimper,  entered,  he  was  greeted  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  women  with  shouts  of 
‘Renegade!’  . . . ‘Death  to  Quimper!’  ‘Death 
to  the  heretics!’  ‘Death  to  religious  liberty!’ 
‘Traitors!’  ‘Down  with  Pilate!’  ‘He’s  bought 
by  the  Protestants!’  ‘Away  with  him!’  ‘Away 
with  him !’ 

“A  few  university  students  had  slipped  into 
the  center  of  the  crowd  of  Roman  Catholic 


. 

180  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

women,  and  so  occasionally  one  heard  among 
the  shrill  voices  of  the  women  the  husky  shouts 
of  these  men  in  behalf  of  religious  freedom. 
The  president  of  the  deputies  had  hunted  up 
an  excuse  to  stay  at  home  that  day,  so  the 
duty  of  presiding  fell  on  the  vice  president  of 
the  deputies,  Dr.  Pena  Murietta.  His  ar- 
rival called  forth  a storm  of  protests;  and 
amid  the  noise  of  firecrackers,  he  was  showered 
with  crowns  of  alfalfa.  When  the  senators 
arrived  in  a body,  they  were  greeted  with 
‘Traitors!’  ‘Death  to  the  representatives!’ 
‘Death  to  the  reformers!’  ‘Death  to  liberty!’ 
and  when  the  meeting  was  finally  called  to 
order,  the  tumult  in  the  galleries  was  such 
that  the  presiding  officer  had  to  order  that 
one  of  the  balconies  should  be  emptied. 

“In  the  meantime,  the  priest  Sancho  Diaz, 
the  leader  of  the  Roman  Catholic  forces,  and 
a half  dozen  others,  were  drinking  tea  and 
beer  in  the  barroom  adjoining,  in  the  hope  of 
preventing  a quorum ; but  finally,  hearing  Dr. 
Pena  Murietta  proceed  with  the  business  of 
the  day,  they  rushed  in,  shouting:  ‘There  is 
no  quorum!  There  is  no  quorum!’  The  other 
congressmen  laughed,  and  said  that  it  would 
have  been  their  fault  if  there  were  not.  And 


“Christianity”  not  Christian  181 

so  it  happened  that  the  very  enemies  of  the 
bill  were  present  and  helped  to  swell  the 
quorum  that  made  possible  the  formal  an- 
nouncement of  the  law. 

“By  this  time,  the  noise  in  the  galleries  was 
enormous.  Women  prayed  and  yelled  at  the 
same  time,  firecrackers  were  set  off,  and  more 
alfalfa  crowns  were  hurled  at  Dr.  Pena 
Murietta  as  he  arose,  and  with  his  bell  in  one 
hand  (to  call  for  order)  and  the  official  docu- 
ment in  the  other,  shouted  out,  ‘The  honor- 
able Congress  being  in  session  in  order  to 
announce  formally  the  reform  of  article  4 of 
the  constitution,  I shall  announce  it!’  Like  a 
tiger  Sr.  Sancho  Diaz  sprang  from  his  seat, 
ran  to  the  table,  seized  the  document,  and  tore 
it  to  pieces. 

“Some  of  the  congressmen  tried  to  stop 
him,  but  were  unable  to  do  so.  Dr.  Pena 
Murietta,  having  ordered  the  offender  to  be 
detained,  announced  the  adjournment  of  the 
day’s  session.  (A  few  moments  later  the 
priest  formally  apologized  for  tearing  up  the 
document.)  And  so  closed  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  sessions  of  the  Peruvian  Con- 
gress.” 


182  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

Thus  the  bill  became  law,  and  other  reli- 
gions than  Roman  Catholic  are  tolerated  in 
Peru.  But  religious  liberty  is  not  mere  tol- 
eration ; it  recognizes  equal  rights.  May  Peru 
soon  complete  the  good  work  she  has  begun. 

As  yet,  religious  persecution  among  the 
Indians  has  not  ceased;  but  the  law  is  having 
its  effect.  In  sections  far  away  from  the  capi- 
tal, where  priest  and  official  are  interested 
in  keeping  the  Indians  enslaved  drunkards, 
there  have  been  violent  uprisings;  but  God 
has  overruled  to  save  the  lives  of  His  people. 


CHAPTER  X 


r.  < 


Help  from  High  Sources 

ABOUT  this  time,  public  sentiment 
seemed  to  change  in  our  favor.  Ap- 
parently the  bishop  had  gone  a step 
too  far,  and  the  people  were  very  much  dis- 
pleased with  him.  They  said  that  he  had  no 
right  to  make  prisoners  of  these  Indians.  If 
they  had  been  guilty  of  a crime,  he  should 
have  informed  the  secular  authorities,  and  it 
was  their  duty  to  make  prisoners  of  the  of- 
fenders. So  the  bishop  left  Puno  for  several 
months,  until  things  calmed  down  somewhat. 

While  this  persecution  was  going  on,  the 
priest  and  the  bishop  sent  letters  to  the  gov- 
ernment officials  at  the  capital  of  Peru,  ac- 
cusing us  of  inciting  the  Indians  to  rebellion 
and  teaching  them  to  disobey  the  authorities. 
As  a result  of  these  accusations,  the  president 
of  Peru  sent  a commission  to  investigate  our 
work. 

When  the  commissioners  arrived,  they  went 
out  in  the  province,  visiting  the  Indians. 
They  asked  the  Indians  what  the  missionaries 
taught  them;  and  the  Indians,  in  their  simple 
way,  answered  that  they  were  taught  to  obey 

(183) 


184 


r 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

God,  to  have  regard  for  the  welfare  of  their 
fellow  men,  obey  the  authorities  in  every  way, 
and  not  to  drink  alcohol  nor  use  cocaine.  The 
commissioners  found  that  the  Indians  who  had 
accepted  the  gospel  were  far  more  intelligent 
and  more  courteous  than  the  others.  Their 
whole  appearance  was  different  from  that  of 
the  Indians  who  were  still  drinking  alcohol. 
Our  Indians  were  clean,  their  clothes  were 
clean,  their  faces  were  happy,  and  there  was 
a bright  look  in  their  eyes.  Even  at  a dis- 
tance, they  could  be  distinguished  from  the 
others. 

So  the  commission  returned  a very  favor- 
able report  of  the  mission  work;  and  when,  a 
few  months  later,  a bill  for  religious  liberty 
was  presented  before  Congress,  as  told  about 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  it  passed,  although 
hotly  contested  by  the  priests.  I met  one  of 
the  senators  afterward,  and  he  told  me  per- 
sonally that  our  mission  work  was  “the  lever 
used  to  push  the  bill  through  the  house.,, 

After  a few  months’  absence,  Bishop  Am- 
puero  returned  to  this  province;  and  going 
one  day  to  the  village  near  the  mission,  he 
gathered  the  people  around  him  in  the  public 
square,  and  cursed  the  mission,  and  said  he 


r 


HELP  FROM  HIGH  SOURCES  185 

would  do  everything  he  could  to  hinder  the 
work  and  see  that  the  mission  buildings  were 
destroyed  and  the  people  killed.  Ten  days 
from  that  date,  he  became  very  ill  and  died 
suddenly;  and  two  weeks  after  his  death,  the 
two  priests  that  were  foremost  in  the  persecu- 
tion also  died.  Within  two  months,  five  of 
the  worst  enemies  of  our  mission  work  had 
died. 

As  I was  going  along  the  public  highway 
one  day  shortly  after  that,  a man  on  horse- 
back overtook  me  and  began  to  inquire  about 
the  mission,  asking  me  who  I was,  where  I 
was  going,  etc.  I answered  all  his  questions 
respectfully.  He  suddenly  wheeled  his  horse 
about  to  face  me,  and  putting  out  his  hand, 
said,  “I  am  Pablo  Corpio,  the  governor  of 
Chucuito.”  That  was  the  district  where  our 
mission  was  located.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
not  understood  our  work,  and  had  done  all 
he  could  to  hinder  it,  but  that  now  his  feel- 
ings had  changed,  and  he  was  our  friend. 
He  also  informed  me  that  there  was  a plot  on 
foot  in  the  village  of  Chucuito  to  kill  Chief 
Camacho,  and  that  I should  not  permit  him 
to  leave  his  home  under  any  circumstances. 


186  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

As  we  were  riding  along,  he  requested  the 
privilege  of  asking  a question  that  might  seem 
strange  to  me. 

I replied,  “Say  on.” 

He  then  said:  “Tell  me,  how  is  it  that  five 
men, — the  bishop,  two  priests,  and  two  men 
of  our  village, — have  died  with  in  a fewr 
months.  They  were  all  enemies  of  you  and 
that  mission  work.” 

I answered:  “Since  you  ask,  I can  only 
tell  you  plainly  my  opinion.  I believe  that  it 
was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  hand  of 
God.  These  men  stood  in  the  way  of  God’s 
work,  and  He  saw  that  it  was  necessary  to  put 
them  out  of  the  way.  Nothing  can  hinder 
the  work  of  God.” 

He  said,  “I  believe  you.” 

Some  of  the  priests  of  this  province  soon 
left  hastily  for  distant  places. 

The  second  day  after  this,  two  men  called 
on  Camacho  and  tried  to  force  him  to  go  from 
the  village,  on  the  pretext  that  the  governor 
wanted  to  see  him.  I was  at  the  chief’s  house 
at  the  time,  and  I forbade  him  to  accompany 
the  men.  They  asked  what  business  I had  to 
interfere;  so  I courteously  told  them  that  I 
understood  there  was  a plot  under  way  to  kill 


HELP  FROM  HIGH  SOURCES  187 

him  and  I would  not  permit  him  to  go  with 
them. 

We  now  organized  a day  school.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty  names  were  enrolled  the  first 
day.  Many  of  those  who  came  to  learn  to 
read  and  write  were  over  forty  years  old. 
When  I asked  them  why  they  wanted  to  come 
to  school,  they  answered,  “We  want  to  learn 
to  read  the  letter  that  God  has  left  for  us.” 
They  called  the  Bible  the  letter  that  God  had 
left  for  them. 

About  this  time,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rojas,  of 
Argentine,  were  sent  up  to  help  11s;  and  they 
took  this  school  in  charge.  The  Indians  were 
delighted  with  their  school  and  teachers. 


Mrs.  Stahl  and  Her  Indian  School 


CHAPTER  XI 


Reconnoitering 

I NOW  decided  to  investigate  the  condi- 
tions in  this  area  around  Lake  Titicaca. 
So  with  one  of  our  Indian  converts, 
Stephen,  as  a guide,  I started  out.  The  first 
day,  we  made  thirty  miles,  reaching  the  prov- 
ince of  Juli.  I had  never  seen  so  large  an 
Indian  country  as  lay  near  this  place.  There 
were  Indian  huts  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see, 
and  close  together  at  that.  As  I looked  upon 
those  thousands  of  huts,  and  the  Indians  that 
lived  in  them,  a great  longing  rose  in  my 
heart  to  help  these  people,  and  give  them  the 
precious  gospel  of  Christ. 

We  passed  the  night  at  the  home  of  a 
Liberal,  a man  that  was  a friend  to  our  work 
and  a friend  to  the  Indians. 

The  next  day,  after  traveling  thirty-five 
miles,  we  reached  Pumata.  We  could  not 
find  a place  to  stay  overnight,  nor  could  we 
find  feed  for  our  mules.  I went  to  the  gover- 
nor of  the  town,  but  he  would  not  take  us  in. 
He  said  he  had  no  room.  After  I had  looked 
about  for  some  time,  a poor  Indian  told  us 
to  come  to  his  home,  and  he  gave  us  feed  for 
(188) 


Chulpa,  or  Royal  Monument,  Umayo,  Peru 

(189) 


190  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

our  saddle  animals.  This  Indian  family  have 
since  been  very  friendly  to  our  brethren  as 
they  have  traveled  through  this  place. 

Here  was  a province  of  over  fifteen  thou- 
sand Indians,  and  no  one  to  teach  them  the 
right  way. 

The  next  night,  after  another  thirty  miles, 
we  crossed  the  line  into  Bolivia.  Here  we 
found  an  immense  feast  in  progress.  When 
we  stopped  a few  moments,  the  drunken  In- 
dians would  bow  to  us  and  dance  around  us. 
Some  of  them  would  kneel  in  front  of  us,  and 
offer  us  of  their  fire  water.  They  were  greatly 
surprised  at  our  refusal.  It  seemed  pitiable 
to  see  these  thousands  of  people  in  ignorance 
of  the  right  way.  They  were  feasting,  drink- 
ing, dancing,  and  cursing,  and  all  this  in  the 
name  of  religion. 

The  following  day,  we  reached  Tiahuanuco, 
the  city  of  the  old  Pre-Inca  ruins;  and  I spent 
a few  hours  visiting  these  monuments  of  a 
long  forgotten  people.  I was  much  impressed 
with  the  magnitude  of  the  stones  that  had 
been  used  to  build  the  vast  temples  at  this 
place.  As  I saw  how  great  stone  idols  were 
cracking  and  crumbling  before  the  elements. 


RECONNOITERING  191 

I was  reminded  of  Psalm  144:  15:  “Happy  is 
that  people,  whose  God  is  the  Lord.” 

We  passed  through  some  very  thickly  popu- 
lated districts  in  this  region,  all  in  the  same 
condition, — in  the  depths  of  idolatry  and  vice. 
At  every  place  where  we  stopped,  there  was 
opportunity  to  treat  sick  persons.  At  one  of 
these  places,  we  found  a man  suffering  with 
a broken  leg,  and  I set  it  for  him.  We  left 
him  some  reading  matter,  for  which  he  was 
very  thankful. 

In  a few  days,  we  reached  Caraboca,  a fine, 
large  Indian  village  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 
The  Indians  told  us  that  the  governor  re- 
ceived travelers,  so  we  went  to  him.  As  soon 
as  he  learned  that  I had  a knowledge  of  medi- 
cine, he  wished  me  to  see  a very  sick  child 
of  his ; and  by  the  blessing  of  God,  I was  able 
to  relieve  the  child.  After  supper,  the  gov- 
ernor showed  me  to  a room  in  which  was  a 
real  bed.  This  he  told  me  I could  use.  As  I 
had  only  twenty-four  miles  to  travel  the  next 
day,  I took  advantage  of  this  bed  to  the 
fullest  extent,  and  was  much  refreshed. 

We  reached  Guaicho,  the  border  town  of 
Bolivia,  at  four  o’clock  that  afternoon.  Over 
the  line  was  Peru.  We  found  a place  to  stay 


■ • 

192  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

with  the  Indians,  and  I sent  my  guide  to  buy 
feed  for  the  mules.  He  came  back  saying  that 
no  one  in  the  village  would  sell  him  anything. 
We  had  to  have  feed  for  our  mules,  so  I went 
to  the  village,  but  found  the  people  very  ill- 
tempered.  They  would  sell  me  no  feed. 

I was  wondering  what  to  do,  when  a man 
came  across  the  street  toward  me  who  seemed 
friendly.  1 addressed  him;  and  as  he  an- 
swered me  pleasantly,  I explained  to  him  my 
trouble.  “Oh,”  he  said,  “you  must  go  to  the 
prefecto.  This  being  a border  town,  every 
one  is  regarded  with  suspicion.”  We  both 
went  to  the  prefecto,  and  my  new-found 
friend  told  him  what  I needed.  The  prefecto 
gave  me  an  order  for  feed,  and  invited  me  to 
return  and  have  supper  with  him.  I did  not 
promise,  however,  as  I was  very  tired. 

I secured  the  feed  for  our  mules,  returned 
to  our  Indian  hut,  took  a refreshing  bath  in 
the  river  near,  and  determined  to  retire  early. 
Just  as  we  were  about  to  sit  down  to  our 
frugal  repast,  a messenger  appeared,  summon- 
ing me  to  the  prefecto’s  house.  I went,  and 
found  the  prefecto  and  my  new  friend  and 
two  other  head  men  of  the  village  awaiting 
supper  for  me.  They  were  all  so  very  kind 


RECONNOITERING 


193 


and  sociable  that  I soon  forgot  my  weariness; 
and  as  they  seemed  inclined  to  listen,  I told 
them  of  our  work,  and  what  we  intended  to  do 
for  the  Indians.  The  prefecto  said:  “Oh,  that 
you  would  come  among  us!  We  need  just 
such  a work  here.”  After  a very  pleasant 
evening,  I departed,  promising  that  I would 
remember  them  in  our  work  for  the  Indians. 

About  four  o’clock  the  next  morning,  I 
was  awakened  by  an  Indian  boy  calling  to 
us  through  the  door.  I asked  Stephen  what 
the  boy  was  saying.  He  said  the  boy  was 
telling  us  that  some  one  was  stealing  our 
mules.  We  jumped  up  quickly,  and  I threw 
a raincoat  about  me,  as  I had  made  myself 
comfortable  for  the  night  by  removing  my 
outer  clothing.  When  I reached  the  road,  I 
found  Stephen  struggling  with  two  men,  try- 
ing to  regain  possession  of  our  mules.  I 
grappled  with  them,  telling  them,  at  the 
same  time,  that  I intended  taking  them  to 
the  prefecto’s  office.  This  seemed  to  make 
them  more  anxious  than  ever  to  get  away,  and 
finally  one  of  them  did  escape. 

As  I was  making  ready  to  take  the  re- 
maining man  to  the  office  of  the  prefecto,  an 
army  officer  with  six  soldiers  entered  the  yard, 


13 


194  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

and  in  a very  stern  voice  announced  that  I 
was  under  arrest. 

“What  for?”  I asked. 

“Because  you  have  struck  Bolivian  sol- 
diers,” he  said. 

I explained  to  him  about  the  attempt  of 
the  men  to  take  our  mules,  and  that  I wanted 
to  take  the  men  to  the  prefecto. 

“Well,  you  struck  these  men,  and  they  are 
soldiers,”  he  said. 

I replied  that  I had  not  struck  them,  and 
called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
not  hurt  in  any  way,  which  would  be  hardly 
probable  had  I struck  them.  However,  he 
insisted  that  I go  with  him. 

As  we  were  about  to  start,  a well  dressed 
man  came  running  into  the  yard,  and  spoke 
in  a low  tone  to  the  officer.  Then  they  both 
came  to  me,  and  begged  my  pardon  for  what 
had  occurred,  scolding  the  two  men  for  try- 
ing to  take  our  mules,  and  asking  them  why 
they  did  so.  One  answered  that  he  saw  that 
the  mules  were  “such  good  ones.” 

They  then  left  me,  and  I thanked  God  for 
delivering  me  from  what  might  have  proved 
to  be  a long  delay  with  much  hardship.  I 
could  then  see  that  He  had  guided  in  my 


(195) 


Meeting  with  the  Indians — Always  the  Best  of  Attention 


196  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

spending  the  evening  with  the  prefecto,  for 
it  was  he  who  had  countermanded  the  order 
for  my  arrest.  I afterward  learned  that  in 
this  country,  it  was  the  custom  for  soldiers, 
when  they  were  on  the  march  and  needed  sad- 
dle animals,  to  take  them  wherever  they  could 
find  them,  without  asking  permission;  but  it 
was  usually  from  some  of  the  Indians.  The 
remainder  of  our  time  at  this  place  was  spent 
in  tranquillity. 

At  three  o’clock  the  next  morning,  we  were 
up  and  on  our  way  again;  and  at  four- thirty 
in  the  afternoon,  having  traveled  thirty-six 
miles  over  the  rough  road,  we  began  looking 
for  a place  to  stay  overnight.  We  had  not 
gone  far,  when  I noticed  a small  Indian  vil- 
lage away  up  on  the  mountain  among  the 
rocks.  I asked  our  Indian  brother  to  go  and 
see  if  the  people  would  receive  us,  and  if  they 
would,  to  wave  his  hat,  and  I would  come  on. 
I was  glad  to  see  him  wave  his  hat. 

I found  the  Indians  very  kind;  and  as  they 
brought  Stephen  some  food,  they  asked  him 
if  I would  be  offended  if  they  brought  me 
some.  I understood,  and  told  them  that  I 
would  be  very  thankful  for  it.  Indeed,  I was 
hungry  and  cold,  and  the  steaming  food 


RECONNOITERING 


197 


looked  good  to  me.  They  were  much  pleased 
that  I ate  so  heartily. 

After  supper,  we  held  a meeting  with  the 
Indians,  and  they  listened  intently.  Some 
threw  away  their  coca-leaf  mixture,  the  curse 
of  the  Indians.  When  I told  them  that  Jesus 
was  soon  coming  to  reclaim  His  own,  they 
could  not  restrain  themselves  any  longer,  but 
burst  out  with  loud  exclamations  of  “Waliki! 
Walikir  meaning,  “Good!  Good!” 

After  the  service,  the  chief  came  to  me  and 
asked  when  I would  return  to  them.  As  we 
had  so  few  workers,  I answered  that  I could 
not  tell. 

“But  I want  to  know  when  you  will  come 
to  us  again,  and  teach  us  all.” 

Again  I told  him  that  really  I did  not 
know,  as  this  village  was  so  far  from  our  mis- 
sion, and  we  were  so  few. 

“Oh,  but  we  must  know,”  he  continued. 

Finally  I said,  “If  I do  not  return,  some 
one  else  will.” 

“But  how  am  I to  know  that  some  one  else 
will  teach  us  the  same  things?” 

I thought  a moment,  then  picked  up  a small 
pebble,  and  broke  it  in  two.  I gave  him  one 
half,  and  told  him  that  whoever  should  come 


198  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

to  teach  him  and  his  people  as  I had  taught 
them,  would  have  the  other  half  and  bring  it  to 
him.  He  took  his  half  and  put  it  away  very 
carefully,  saying,  “It  is  welL’,  The  sequel  of 
this  story  will  be  told  in  another  chapter. 

They  would  take  no  money  from  us  for 
their  hospitality,  but  we  gave  them  some  very 
hard  bread  that  we  had.  This  they  accepted 
with  thankfulness.  Many  of  them  had  never 
seen  bread  before. 

The  next  day,  we  continued  our  journey. 
At  midday,  we  had  to  cross  a large  river,  and 
the  Indians  brought  a small  boat  to  take  us 
over.  These  boats  are  made  of  grass;  and 
when  one  of  the  mules  got  into  one,  there  was 
not  much  to  be  seen  of  the  boat.  Yet  they 
got  us  over  to  the  other  side  safely. 

When  I proposed  to  settle  with  the  Indians 
for  taking  us  across,  they  demanded  fifteen 
dollars.  I knew  that  was  an  outrageous  price. 
The  usual  charge  for  taking  two  persons 
across  with  two  saddle  animals  would  be  about 
sixty  cents.  I tried  to  explain  to  the  Indians 
that  the  price  they  asked  was  exorbitant ; 
but  the  more  I tried  to  explain,  the  angrier 
they  became.  They  tried  to  seize  our  mules’ 
bridles,  and  would  not  permit  us  to  go  on. 


(199) 


Indians  Making  Grass  Boats 


200  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

My  guide  told  them,  in  the  most  eloquent 
manner,  what  our  work  was,  and  that  we  were 
friendly  to  the  Indians,  and  what  the  mission- 
ary had  been  doing  for  those  on  the  Puno 
side,  and  that  our  journey  was  in  the  interest 
of  the  Indians  throughout  the  country.  After 
this,  they  immediately  calmed  down,  and  said 
they  would  be  satisfied  with  whatever  we 
would  give  them. 

We  kept  on  until  dark,  but  found  no  place 
to  spend  the  night.  We  saw  a storm  coming 
on,  and  were  getting  anxious;  but  finally  we 
came  to  an  Indian  hut,  and  asked  for  a place 
to  stay  overnight.  The  occupants  told  us 
they  had  no  place  except  a very  small  hut 
with  the  roof  partly  torn  off.  We  got  into 
this  just  as  the  storm  broke;  but  we  could  not 
rest,  for  the  rain  came  through  the  roof,  and 
the  cold  wind  blew  through  the  walls.  By  the 
flashes  of  lightning,  we  could  see  our  saddle 
animals  trembling  with  the  cold;  and  as  we 
were  in  the  same  condition,  we  thought  it 
•better  to  go  on  in  the  storm  and  darkness. 

Our  mules  seemed  glad  to  go.  We  picked 
our  way  along  with  the  aid  of  a lantern;  but 
the  wind  blew  it  out  every  little  while,  not- 
withstanding my  endeavor  to  shield  it,  and  I 


RECONNOITERING 


201 


had  difficulty  in  relighting  it  with  my  be- 
numbed fingers.  One  time,  when  I was 
lighting  the  lantern,  I remarked  to  my  guide 
that  it  was  too  bad  the  light  persisted  in  go- 
ing out.  “Well,”  he  said,  with  a solemnly 
paternal  air,  “you  must  be  careful  not  to  let 
it  go  out.”  His  manner  struck  me  as  so 
funny  that  I laughed  in  spite  of  the  cold.  We 
lost  the  road  at  times  on  account  of  the 
water.  Still  we  kept  on,  and  it  was  very  in- 
teresting to  me  to  see  the  way  my  Indian 
guide  would  find  the  road  again.  We  had  to 
pass  along  narrow  ledges  where  a slip  would 
mean  positive  death;  but  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  was  with  us,  and  we  got  through 
safely. 

The  next  morning,  we  reached  the  great 
Quichua  country.  We  stopped  at  the  hut  of 
a Quichua  Indian,  who  treated  us  very  kindly, 
giving  us  food,  and  also  feed  for  our  mules. 
The  Quichuas  seemed  to  be  far  more  amiable 
than  the  Aymaras,  and  we  were  anxious  to 
open  a work  for  them  also. 

The  following  evening,  we  arrived  at  Puno, 
the  end  of  our  journey,  having  made  the  cir- 
cuit around  Lake  Titicaca  in  three  weeks. 


CHAPTER  XII 


Proof  of  Appreciation 

MESSENGERS  now  began  coming  in 
from  the  more  distant  provinces, 
pleading  with  us  to  open  up  mission 
stations  in  their  localities,  and  furnish  schools 
and  teachers  for  them.  As  I was  making 
ready  to  answer  some  of  the  most  urgent  of 
these  calls,  I was  taken  down  with  inflamma- 
tory rheumatism;  and  for  three  weeks,  I suf- 
fered excruciatingly  of  this  terrible  disease. 

Mrs.  Stahl  called  in  two  Indian  brethren 
to  help  take  care  of  me  during  this  sickness. 
As  the  Indians  came  into  my  room  and  saw 
me  lying  there,  many  would  burst  out  crying. 
At  one  time,  she  said  to  some  of  the  Indians 
who  had  called,  “Do  not  forget  to  pray  for 
my  husband,  that  he  shall  be  restored  to  health 
again.”  One  of  them  replied:  “We  do  pray 
for  him.  We  not  only  pray  for  him  during 
the  day,  but  we  go  out  on  the  plain  every 
night  at  midnight  and  pray  for  him.” 

One  Sabbath,  a call  was  made  for  some  of 
the  Indians  to  bring  milk  to  our  house,  Mrs. 
Stahl  telling  them  that  I was  not  able  to  eat 
any  other  food.  The  next  day,  they  came. 
(202) 


. 


(203) 


After  the  Sabbath  Services  at  Plateria 


204  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

Across  the  plain  and  down  the  mountain  side 
came  hundreds  of  Indians,  all  with  little  jugs 
in  their  hands,  which  proved  to  be  full  of  milk. 
Mrs.  Stahl  filled  every  available  dish  in  the 
house,  including  the  washtubs,  and  we  had 
milk  enough  to  bathe  in. 

One  day,  as  I was  lying  there,  five  very 
tall  Indians  came  in  through  the  open  door. 
They  came  to  my  bedside,  and  knelt  there, 
and  with  pleading  voices  said:  “Father,  come 
over  and  help  us.  We  also  want  to  know 
the  way.” 

I promised  them  that  when  I could  get  up 
from  my  sick  bed,  I would  visit  them. 

“Oh,”  they  pleaded,  “have  you  no  one  to 
send  now  to  teach  us?  We  have  brought  our 
mules  and  pack  animals  with  us,  so  that  we 
can  take  the  teacher  right  along.” 

I explained  to  them  that  we  had  no  teach- 
ers, all  those  available  having  been  placed  in 
different  provinces.  Then  they  began  to 
plead  again,  telling  me  how  hard  it  was  for 
them  to  return  to  their  people  without  a 
teacher. 

After  a few  moments,  they  turned  to  my 
son,  twelve  years  old,  and  began  to  talk  to 
him,  asking  him  many  questions. 


PROOF  OF  APPRECIATION  v 205 

Finally  one  of  these  big  Indians  came  to  me 
again,  and  said,  “Let  your  little  boy  come  over 
and  teach  us.” 

“Oh,”  I replied,  “he  is  only  a child  yet,  and 
is  not  prepared  to  teach.” 

“But,”  the  man  persisted,  “if  we  only  knew 
what  he  knows,  we  should  be  happy.” 

Then  my  son  came  over  to  me,  and  said: 
“Papa,  let  me  go  with  them.  I will  be  all 
right.  I would  enjoy  teaching  these  people.” 
At  another  time,  three  messengers  came 
from  one  of  these  high  mountain  regions, 
pleading  for  teachers;  but  we  were  not  able  to 
grant  them.  One  of  these  Indians  took  out 
from  under  his  shawl  a large  piece  of  silver, 
which  he  handed  to  me.  “Now,”  he  said,  “if 
you  will  come  and  teach  us,  we  will  show  you 
where  there  is  much  of  this  silver  buried.” 
Apparently  the  poor  man  supposed  that  I did 
not  want  to  come,  and  he  thought  to  tempt 
me  by  the  offer  of  the  silver. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rojas  had  been  with 
us  about  a year,  doing  excellent  work  for  the 
Indians,  they  had  to  leave  very  suddenly  one 
morning  for  the  coast  on  account  of  the  effect 
the  high  altitude  had  on  them.  The  school 
had  just  been  opened,  and  they  had  it  well  in 


206  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

hand;  and  when  the  children  found  that  their 
teachers  had  gone,  many  of  them  were  in  tears. 
But  Mrs.  Stahl  volunteered  to  take  the  school, 
and  the  children  were  happy  again. 

Our  work  now  became  very  heavy.  The 
Sabbath  attendance  had  grown  to  nearly  eight 
hundred;  and  besides,  the  Indians  were  bring- 
ing their  sick  from  greater  distances.  Finally 
I was  compelled  to  answer  importunate  calls 
that  came  from  distant  places,  where  we  ex- 
pected to  open  mission  stations  as  soon  as 
more  help  should  arrive.  Thus  Mrs.  Stahl 
would  be  left  alone  with  Luciano,  our  faith- 
ful Indian  boy,  to  manage  the  home  station, 
caring  for  the  sick,  conducting  the  two  Sab- 
bath meetings,  and  carrying  on  the  large  day 
school. 

The  governor  of  the  mountain  district  of 
Pichacani  had  twice  sent  messengers  urging 
me  to  visit  him,  and  I felt  that  I could  no 
longer  refuse.  So  one  morning  early,  accom- 
panied by  Chief  Camacho  and  Juan  Huanca, 
I started  to  the  place.  Our  way  led  us 
through  a very  rocky  section,  to  an  elevation 
of  fifteen  thousand  feet.  Little  grows  up 
there,  except  a tough  mountain  grass.  Yet 
the  scenery  is  majestically  beautiful.  There 


208  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

is  something  fascinating  about  those  great 
rocky  canons. 

As  we  neared  Pichacani,  we  received  word 
that  the  town  was  in  the  midst  of  a drunken 
feast;  and  as  we  did  not  want  to  give  the 
priests  that  were  conducting  the  feast  a 
chance  to  set  the  drunken  mob  on  us,  we  de- 
cided to  rest  awhile  out  on  the  mountain,  and 
arrive  at  the  village  at  dark.  Accordingly, 
we  staked  out  our  horses,  and  visited  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  mining  mill  near.  As  I went 
through  those  ruins,  I thought,  If  they  could 
only  speak,  what  an  awful  tale  they  could  tell! 

There  were  great  stone  grinders  still  in 
place.  These  grinders  were  over  five  feet 
across  and  two  feet  thick.  Thousands  of  In- 
dians gave  up  their  lives  working  in  these 
mines,  getting  out  gold  for  the  Spaniards. 
As  I viewed  those  ruins,  I imagined  I could 
see  hundreds  of  half-naked  Indians  bringing 
the  quartz  from  the  mountain  a mile  away, 
hear  the  curses  of  the  Spaniards,  see  the  cruel 
lash  fall,  and  every  now  and  then  a poor,  ex- 
hausted Indian  fall  beneath  his  heavy  load. 

It  is  difficult  to  get  an  Indian  to  reveal 
where  any  of  these  mines  are  situated.  They 
have  taken  every  precaution  to  hide  all  trace 


14 


(209) 


Inca  Ruins,  South  America 


2l0  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

of  them,  filling  up  the  veins  and  the  openings 
so  that  they  would  be  hidden  from  view. 

As  the  sun  was  sinking  in  the  west,  we  pre- 
pared to  continue  our  journey;  but  just  as  we 
were  about  to  mount,  Camacho’s  horse  broke 
away  and  joined  a group  of  half -wild  horses 
on  the  plain.  We  spent  some  time  recovering 
him.  Then  I discovered  that  in  the  chase,  I 
had  lost  my  field  glass,  so  we  all  turned  out 
to  find  it.  This  was  not  a light  undertaking, 
as  the  plain  was  covered  with  grass  five  or  six 
inches  high.  Soon  a hailstorm  put  a stop  to 
our  search,  and  we  decided  to  spend  the  night 
in  an  old  hut  near-by. 

Camacho  very  much  bewailed  the  loss  of 
the  glass,  saying  it  was  all  his  fault,  because 
he  had  not  taken  better  care  of  his  horse.  I 
told  him,  however,  that  he  should  not  feel  bad, 
as  doubtless  God  had  a purpose  in  this  delay, 
and  we  should  find  the  glass  all  right  in  the 
morning.  We  all  felt  that  it  would  be  better 
to  reach  the  town  in  the  morning,  when  all 
would  be  quieted  down,  as  there  are  usually 
many  drunken  people  on  the  streets  of  the 
towns  on  feast  days. 

The  next  morning,  we  arose  early,  and  pre- 
pared to  look  for  the  glass  and  continue  our 


PROOF  OF  APPRECIATION  211 

journey.  First  we  had  prayer  that  God 
would  help  us  to  find  the  glass  and  prosper 
us  on  our  way;  for  we  know  that  God  grants 
our  requests  in  small  matters  as  well  as  in 
great.  We  started  out,  and  not  more  than 
ten  minutes  had  passed  when  Camacho  called 
that  he  had  found  the  glass. 

Then  we  set  out  for  the  village.  As  we 
entered,  we  met  the  governor,  who  had  heard 
we  were  coming,  and  was  on  the  lookout  for 
us.  He  took  us  at  once  into  his  house.  We 
found  him  a very  sociable  man,  and  much  in- 
terested in  our  work.  He  wanted  us  to  take 
charge  of  his  village  school,  and  also  work  in 
behalf  of  the  Indians  in  his  province.  He  said 
he  had  taken  note  of  the  Indians  connected 
with  the  mission,  and  they  seemed  so  clean 
and  obliging,  he  wished  that  all  the  people  of 
his  province  might  be  the  same. 

“They  would  be  worth  so  much  more  to  the 
country,  and  be  more  useful  in  every  way,”  he 
said.  “Now  when  I want  to  send  an  im- 
portant message,  I can  hardly  find  a man 
that  is  trustworthy;  and  I wish  I might  have 
some  of  your  Indians  here  to  help  me  at 
times.” 


212 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


He  asked  about  our  religious  belief,  and 
was  particularly  interested  in  hearing  of  the 
soon  coming  of  our  Lord,  who  has  gone  be- 
fore to  prepare  a kingdom  for  His  children, 
and  will  put  an  end  to  all  sin  and  suffering. 
As  he  listened,  his  face  grew  grave,  and  he 
said:  “Would  that  all  might  know  and  be- 
lieve this!  Anything  I can  do  to  help  you 
bring  this  message  to  my  people,  I shall  be 
glad  to  do.  Go  out  among  the  Indians  here 
anywhere  you  like  and  hold  your  meetings.” 
After  a lunch  that  he  had  provided  for  us, 
the  mayor  of  the  town  and  several  other 
prominent  men  called.  They  took  us  through 
some  of  the  ancient  mines,  and  then  through 
the  old  Spanish  church.  This  church  was 
erected  shortly  after  the  Spanish  conquest.  Jt 
was  adorned  most  elaborately.  On  the  walls 
hung  large  paintings  representing  different 
phases  of  the  life  of  Christ.  They  were  really 
beautiful;  and  for  a few  moments,  I forgot 
myself,  and  started  to  explain  to  the  people 
who  had  gathered  in  the  church  what  each 
picture  represented.  Although  they  had  seen 
these  paintings  many  times,  the  questions  they 
asked  showed  that  they  did  not  know  what 
they  represented. 


(213) 


Lunch  Time 


214  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

After  this,  we  took  leave  of  the  governor, 
the  mayor,  and  others  who  were  with  us,  and 
continued  our  journey.  Everywhere,  we 
found  the  Indians  interested;  and  we  held 
many  meetings  with  them.  In  one  of  their 
large  settlements,  they  came  out  to  meet  us 
with  flags  and  drums,  and  escorted  us  to  a 
hut  they  had  prepared  for  our  use. 

One  of  the  first  things  they  asked  us  to  do 
was  to  teach  them  to  sing  some  of  the  hymns. 
After  holding  a meeting  and  singing  many 
hymns,  we  partook  of  the  lunch  provided  for 
us,  and  retired  for  the  night.  We  had  just 
fallen  asleep  when  I heard  a loud  rapping  at 
the  door.  I lighted  a candle  and  opened  the 
door,  and  in  filed  fifteen  Indians,  five  women 
and  ten  men.  The  women  were  carrying 
heavy  bundles,  wrapped  in  blankets ; and  they 
seated  themselves  solemnly  around  the  walls 
of  the  hut.  One  of  the  men,  who  appeared 
to  be  the  chief,  said:  “Brother,  we  are  glad 
you  have  came  to  us.  We  have  been  expect- 
ing you.  We  know  that  your  journey  has 
been  long  and  hard,  and  that  you  are  tired  and 
hungry;  so  we  have  brought  you  some  food.” 
They  then  unwrapped  the  bundles,  which 
proved  to  be  earthen  kettles  containing  food. 


PROOF  OF  APPRECIATION 


215 


They  had  wrapped  them  in  heavy  blankets  so 
that  they  would  retain  the  heat,  as  they  had 
come  a long  distance. 

Although  we  had  eaten  heartily  about  an 
hour  before,  yet  in  order  not  to  disappoint 
these  Indians,  we  thanked  them  cordially,  and 
told  them  we  should  be  glad  to  partake  of  the 
food  they  had  brought.  They  were  very 
pleased  indeed.  As  one  of  the  women  served 
the  food  into  the  bowls  that  we  had,  I would 
take  a taste  with  my  teaspoon,  and  hand  the 
rest  to  my  Indian  guides,  who  were  usually 
ready  for  an  extra  meal  or  two.  In  this  way, 
I disposed  of  most  of  the  food. 

When  these  Indians  left,  we  retired  again 
for  the  night.  We  had  but  well  gone  to 
sleep  when  again  there  came  a loud  rapping 
on  the  door.  Wondering  what  this  could 
mean,  I quickly  arose  and  lighted  the  candle; 
and  in  filed  some  twenty  other  Indians,  who 
had  come  from  another  district,  farther  away. 
Some  of  these  also  were  carrying  large 
bundles  done  up  in  blankets.  When  they 
had  seated  themselves,  the  spokesman  said, 
4 ‘Brother,  we  know  that  you  have  come  a long 
distance  to  visit  us,  and  that  you  are  tired  and 
hungry,  so  we  have  brought  you  some  food.” 


• i 


216  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

Not  wanting  to  hurt  their  feelings  by  re- 
fusing their  gift,  I told  them  we  were  glad  for 
the  kind  interest  they  had  shown  in  our  wel- 
fare; and  as  the  women  dished  out  the  food, 
again  I took  a little  with  my  teaspoon,  and 
passed  the  remainder  to  my  guides.  But  they 
refused  it,  saying  they  could  eat  no  more ; and 
for  a moment,  I did  not  know  what  to  do. 
Finally  I said  to  the  Indians,  that  we  should 
be  glad  to  have  them  eat  with  us,  as  they  too 
had  come  a long  distance.  We  would  taste 
of  the  food,  then  hand  it  around;  and  in  this 
way  we  got  rid  of  most  of  it.  They  seemed 
delighted,  and  said  they  were  going  to  stay 
a day  or  two  with  us  in  order  to  attend  the 
meetings. 

After  a few  more  days,  we  visited  one  of 
the  highest  Indian  communities  in  that  sec- 
tion. It  is  in  a dreary  place  indeed,  the  wind 
sweeping  over  the  mountain  tops  in  a terrific 
gale  most  of  the  time.  Nearly  every  after- 
noon, fierce  hailstorms,  accompanied  by  flashes 
of  lightning,  break  over  this  mountain  region. 
The  Indians  here  are  all  tall,  strong  men, 
their  faces  hard-looking  and  seamed. 

As  we  reached  this  district,  the  chief,  a very 
hard-faced  man,  came  out  to  meet  us.  He 


PROOF  OF  APPRECIATION  217 

offered  us  one  of  his  huts  to  stay  in.  “We 
knew  that  the  missionary  was  coming  to  visit 
us,”  he  said.  It  is  remarkable  how  news  is 
carried  among  these  people.  In  the  farthest 
mountain  settlements,  they  are  well  informed 
as  to  what  is  taking  place  in  the  large  towns 
where  the  market  places  are.  When  anything 
unusual  occurs,  the  report  is  carried  swiftly 
throughout  the  region. 

This  chief  tried  to  make  us  comfortable  in 
every  way.  In  the  morning,  I asked  him  if 
our  horses  were  safe.  I had  worried  during 
the  night  about  their  safety,  for  we  had  heard 
that  this  wild  mountain  country  was  infested 
with  horse  thieves.  He  replied  with  a kind 
smile:  “Yes,  they  are  safe.  I have  been  up 
all  night  watching  them.”  He  had  himself 
taken  the  horses  to  a spot  where  he  knew  the 
grass  was  good,  and  watched  them  there  while 
they  fed. 

The  Indians  of  this  section  were  greatly 
interested  in  the  meetings.  In  one  of  these, 
this  chief  exclaimed:  “Oh,  how  can  we  learn 
these  things  without  a teacher!  Send  us  a 
teacher,  some  one  who  can  stay  with  us  and 
teach  us  these  things.”  When  we  prayed,  he 


218  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

would  prostrate  himself  on  the  ground  in  deep 
reverence. 

As  we  were  here  caring  for  the  sick  and 
holding  meetings  with  the  people,  I became 
very  ill,  having  a high  fever.  I thought  best 
to  start  for  the  home  station  at  once,  as  we 
had  a long  distance  to  go  over  the  mountains; 
and  it  was  well  that  I did  start  promptly,  for 
my  illness  proved  to  be  typhoid  fever.  Four 
weeks  I lay  ill,  my  faithful  wife  caring  for 
me.  We  were  alone  at  the  time. 

Repeatedly  I saw  my  wife  weeping.  I 
asked  her  why  she  wept;  and  finally  she  told 
me  she  had  been  reading  a medical  book, 
which  stated  that  hardly  any  one  forty  years 
old  would  recover  from  typhoid  fever.  I had 
just  turned  forty  a few  weeks  before.  I said 
to  her:  “Never  mind  the  medical  book.  The 
Lord  holds  life  and  death  in  His  hand.” 

When  I had  been  out  of  bed  only  three 
days,  and  was  still  very  weak,  messengers 
came  from  the  village  near,  saying  that  there 
was  sickness  in  the  governor’s  family,  and  re- 
questing me  to  come  at  once.  I told  them  I 
was  so  weak  I could  hardly  walk;  but  they 
implored  me  to  come,  and  said  they  had 
brought  a gentle,  easy-riding  horse  for  me. 


PROOF  OF  APPRECIATION  219 

Nothing  would  do  but  for  me  to  go  with 
them.  When  I reached  the  house,  I nearly 
fell  to  the  floor  from  sheer  weakness.  Still  I 
ministered  to  those  who  were  sick;  and  when 
I left  them,  the  governor  feelingly  expressed 
his  appreciation  of  our  evident  interest  in 
his  people. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


The  Broken  Pebble 

A BOUT  this  time,  several  large  delega- 
tions  of  Indians  came  to  us  from  the 
province  of  Moho.  I have  been  wont 
. to  speak  of  this  as  the  “broken  stone”  region, 
for  here  is  where  I divided  a pebble  with  a 
chief  at  the  time  of  my  journey  around  Lake 
Titicaca,  about  three  years  before. 

Moho  is  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Titicaca,  and  is  made  up  of  high,  rocky  moun- 
tains and  fertile  valleys.  The  journey  from 
our  main  station,  La  Plateria,  required  four 
days  on  horseback  and  about  ten  hours 
steamer.  This  province  is  composed  of  six- 
teen Indian  districts. 

As  soon  as  I had  recovered  sufficient 
strength,  I started  out  with  guides  and  inter- 
preters to  visit  this  region.  When  the  steamer 
on  which  we  crossed  the  lake,  arrived  at  the 
port  of  Moho,  we  found  many  Indians  there 
to  meet  us.  They  took  us  to  a house  near. 
Soon  others  were  seen  coming  from  all  direc- 
tions. We  held  meetings  at  once,  and  the 
Indians  were,  intensely  interested.  In  the 
afternoon,  a large  delegation  arrived  from  the 
(220) 


(221) 


Family  Group  of  Indians  Near  Lake  Titicaca 


222  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

district  of  Occa  Pampa,  twenty-one  miles  dis- 
tant. They  wanted  to  take  us  to  their  place 
straightway,  but  the  Indians  of  the  port 
would  not  consent  to  let  us  go  until  morning. 

Early  the  next  morning,  we  mounted  the 
mules  that  had  been  brought  for  us,  and 
started  for  Occa  Pampa.  We  thought  best  to  ^ 
stop  at  the  town  of  Moho  on  the  way,  and 
notify  the  authorities  of  our  arrival,  and  tell 
them  what  our  errand  was,  as  large  gather- 
ings of  Indians  generally  arouse  their  fears. 
By  the  time  we  reached  the  village,  hundreds 
had  gathered,  cheering  us  as  we  went.  I ad- 
vised them  to  go  on  through  the  village  and 
wait  for  us  on  the  other  side.  Then  I,  with 
three  others,  visited  the  governor. 

He  received  us  in  a very  nervous  manner, 
saying  he  had  received  word  that  we  were 
coming.  I told  him  that  I had  come  to  visit 
the  Indians  of  the  district,  and  that  I wanted 
him  to  know  my  purpose.  He  listened  very 
intently,  and  at  the  close,  remarked  that  our 
work  was  not  new  to  him.  He  said:  “Don’t 
you  know  that  these  Indians  here  are  very, 
very  bad  people?  You  had  better  not  open 
up  work  here.  They  are  thieves,  robbers, 


1 


(223) 


Indian  Officials,  Called  “Hilacatas1 


224  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

v \ 

drunkards,  and  very  treacherous  people  to 
deal  with.” 

“Good!”  I responded. 

He  asked:  “How  is  it  you  say  ‘Good’? 
Don’t  you  know  that  these  are  the  worst 
people  in  the  world?  They  do  not  think 
anything  of  killing  any  one.” 

I explained  to  him  that  I had  said  “Good!” 
because,  from  what  he  said,  I was  convinced 
that  we  were  in  just  the  right  place  to  open 
up  gospel  work.  The  very  fact  that  these 
people  were  so  bad  was  proof  that  they  needed 
the  saving  power  of  Christ. 

“Well,”  he  said,  “I  wish  you  success  then.” 
We  found  the  people  of  the  town  not  at 
all  friendly.  As  we  passed  through,  great 
crowds  gathered,  of  both  men  and  women, 
insulting  us  and  threatening  us.  After  leav- 
ing the  town,  and  going  on  about  six  miles, 
we  were  stopped  by  a large  company  of 
friendly  Indians,  who  were  waiting  on  the 
road.  These  took  us  to  a house  near,  where 
we  held  an  enthusiastic  meeting.  We  had  to 
talk  very  loud,  as  a large  crowd  had  gathered. 

Among  those  present  were  some  twenty 
chiefs  — hilacatas  they  are  called  here.  These 
men  are  the  Indian  authorities;  and  they  are 


THE  BROKEN  PEBBLE 


225 


highly  respected,  even  by  the  Spanish  people. 
Each  carries  a rod  of  fine  black  wood, 
mounted  with  silver  rings.  They  told  us  cor- 
dially that  they  had  come  to  welcome  us,  and 
were  glad  that  we  had  come. 

One  fine-appearing  fellow  stepped  out,  and 
said:  “Sir,  we  are  so  far  behind!  We  do  not 
know  the  laws  of  the  great  God.  We  have 
been  worshiping  images,  and  we  know  they 
are  not  God.  Come  and  teach  us  and  our 
people.  We  are  so  far  behind !”  " 

We  afterward  held  another  meeting  with 
them;  and  while  we  spoke,  we  saw  many 
throwing  away  their  cocaine  mixture,  and 
there  were  exclamations  of  approval  through- 
out the  gathering.  Our  meeting  lasted  two 
hours.  Then  the  Indians  of  Occa  Pampa  in- 
sisted that  we  continue  our  journey  to  their 
place. 

We  mounted  our  mules,  and  proceeded  on 
our  way,  accompanied  by  a large  number  of 
Indians  on  horseback  and  still  more  on  foot. 
Clad  in  their  many-colored  blankets,  they 
made  an  impressive  sight  as  they  filed  through 
the  canons.  About  five  o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon, we  met  others  coming  to  meet  us,  with 
flags  and  a band.  When  we  reached  our 

15 


226  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

destination,  an  immense  gathering  was  await- 
ing us.  We  dismounted  amid  cheers  and 
great  waving  of  flags,  while  the  women  show- 
ered us  with  the  petals  of  small  mountain 
flowers. 

Nothing  would  do  but  to  have  a meeting 
at  once.  It  lasted  until  dark.  Never  have  I 
seen  more  enthusiasm  than  was  shown  in  this 
district.  Early  the  next  morning,  the  people 
began  bringing  their  sick.  We  treated  one 
hundred  and  sixty  patients  that  day.  Most 
of  them  were  afflicted  with  diseases  caused  by 
their  unhygienic  ways  of  living. 

The  following  afternoon,  a delegation  of 
a hundred  Indians  came  from  a district  called 
Wira  Pata,  begging  us  to  visit  them  also.  I 
had  observed  that  each  time  we  started  out 
for  a new  district,  we  had  different  mules  to 
ride.  The  mule  brought  for  me  this  time  ap- 
peared to  be  very  nervous.  I told  the  chief 
that  I was  quite  content  to  use  the  one  I had 
come  in  on,  and  asked  if  I might  not  retain 
him  throughout  my  visit  in  this  province. 

“No,”  the  chief  said,  “that  would  be  im- 
possible. We  have  arranged  for  you  to  visit 
eleven  districts  here.  Each  district  has  to 


(227) 


As  the  Indians  Often  Meet  Our  Missionaries 


228  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

help  furnish  the  mounts  and  the  food  and  bear 
the  expense  of  this  visit.” 

When  I mounted  this  mule,  he  became  more 
nervous  still.  He  had  no  saddle,  but  merely 
a small  blanket  thrown  across  his  back.  I 
remarked  to  the  owner  that  I believed  this 
mule  was  going  to  throw  me. 

“Do  not  mind  it  if  he  does,”  the  owner 
cheerfully  replied.  “As  you  are  tall  and 
the  mule  is  small,  just  light  on  your  feet.  I 
have  done  so,  many  a time.” 

I assured  the  man  that  I would  do  the  best 
I could  to  alight  on  my  feet.  As  soon  as  we 
started  out,  the  mule  evidently  changed  his 
usual  tactics.  Instead  of  simply  trying  to 
throw  me,  he  started  to  run  away;  and  as  he 
was  galloping  along,  he  suddenly  turned  a 
corner,  and  left  me  lying  out  on  the  plain.  I 
was  unhurt,  however,  and  immediately  got 
up;  and  the  Indians  furnished  me  a gentler 
beast. 

The  whole  district,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, came  to  meet  us.  The  sight  was  an  un- 
usual one, — the  men  in  their  highly  colored 
clothes,  and  the  women  in  their  deep  black, — 
something  that  is  not  seen  in  any  other  dis- 


trict.  Here  again  we  were  greeted  with 
cheers  and  flowers. 

The  women  of  the  district  brought  their 
children  for  me  to  bless.  I told  them  that  I 
did  not  have  power  to  bless  the  children,  but 
would  ask  Jesus  to  do  so.  They  were  deeply 
interested  as  I placed  my  hand  on  the  chil- 
dren, and  prayed  God  to  bless  them. 

Here  we  had  great  difficulty  in  restraining 
the  people  from  kneeling  before  us  and  kiss- 
ing our  hands,  this  being  to  them  an  act  of 
worship.  We  forbade  them,  and  pointed 
them  to  Him  to  whom  alone  worship  should 
be  rendered.  They  were  indeed  poor,  needy 
people,  given  wholly  to  idolatry,  filled  with 
many  strange  superstitions.  When  we  told 
them  the  simple  gospel  story,  some  of  the 
women  clapped  their  hands  with  delight. 

We  passed  the  night  at  this  place,  the  In- 
dians having  made  us  very  comfortable  in  a 
small  hut,  with  skins  and  blankets.  Long 
before  daylight,  a great  crowd  gathered  be- 
fore our  door.  We  found  that  again  the 
people  had  brought  many  sick  for  us  to  take 
care  of ; and  as  we  treated  their  sick,  we  also 
told  them  how  to  prevent  these  diseases.  They 
were  very  much  interested  in  a faradic  bat- 


230 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

tery  I had  brought  with  me,  which  proved  to 
be  to  them  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
for  they  had  never  seen  the  like  before. 

The  following  day,  we  reached  the  large 
district  of  Paru ; and  at  this  place,  we  met  the 
greatest  number  of  people.  While  speaking, 
we  had  to  have  two  interpreters,  stationed  in 
different  parts  of  the  crowd,  as  one  could  not 
be  heard  by  all.  We  spoke  two  hours,  after 
which  we  treated  the  sick  that  had  been 
brought  to  us. 

We  spent  several  more  days  visiting  the  dis- 
tricts that  the  Indians  had  planned  for  us  to 
visit.  In  all  these  places,  we  found  the  same 
enthusiasm  for  the  gospel.  When  we  came  to 
the  last  district,  the  name  of  which  is  Umucho, 
I determined  to  visit  the  chief  who  had  the 
other  half  of  the  “broken  stone.”  I could  not 
help  thinking  of  the  wonderful  difference  be- 
tween the  tour  I was  now  making,  and  the 
one  I had  made  three  years  before,  alone  with 
my  guide.  Little  did  I think,  at  that  time, 
that  I should  be  privileged  to  see  thousands 
of  the  people  in  these  places  eager  to  hear  the 
gospel.  We  have  now  in  this  district  two 
large  mission  stations  and  seven  day  schools. 


THE  BROKEN  PEBBLE  231 

As  we  rode  into  the  chief’s  yard,  his  wife 
ran  out  to  meet  us;  and  greeting  me,  she  ex- 
claimed, “Oh,  why  did  you  stay  away  so 
long?”  I told  her  it  was  only  about  three 
years.  But  she  said,  “Yes,  yes;  it  is  at  least 
twenty  years  since  you  were  here  before.”  I 
tried  again  to  convince  her  that  it  was  not 
more  than  three  years;  but  she  insistently 
replied,  “Yes,  it  is  more  than  twenty  years 
ago,”  adding,  reproachfully,  “We  have  waited 
so  long.”  I tried  to  console  her;  but  some- 
how I wished  that  I had  had  opportunity  to 
visit  them  before,  especially  when  she  told  me, 
with  tears  streaming  down  her  face,  that  her 
grown  son  had  died  since  my  first  visit.  So 
many  things  had  happened  in  the  short  time 
I was  away,  no  wonder  the  time  seemed  long. 

The  chief  was  not  at  home.  His  wife  told 
me  he  had  gone  on  a long  journey,  and  that 
he  would  not  return  for  some  weeks.  I asked 
her  to  let  me  see  the  half  of  the  broken  stone 
I had  given  to  the  chief.  “Oh,”  she  said,  “I 
do  not  know  where  it  is ! The  chief  would  not 
tell  even  me  where  he  hid  it.” 

When  I told  her  that  soon  there  would  be 
a mission  started  near  her,  her  face  brightened 
up,  and  she  exclaimed,  “Oh,  then  we  can  come 


232 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


and  hear;  then  we  can  get  medicine  for  our 
sick  ones.” 

She  told  me,  in  her  sad  way,  that  many, 
many  years  before,  they  had  been  a happy 
and  free  people;  they  had  much  better  clothes 
to  wear,  much  better  food,  in  greater  abun- 
dance, and  the  people  did  not  use  alcohol  nor 
cocaine.  I told  her  we  were  going  to  teach 
her  people  not  to  use  alcohol  nor  cocaine,  and 
were  going  to  start  schools  for  their  children. 
She  expressed  herself  as  being  very  happy 
indeed,  but  said  again,  “Oh,  we  have  waited 
so  long!” 


CHAPTER  XIV 


A Mysterious  Rescue 

A FEW  weeks  after  returning  from  this 
trip,  we  were  made  happy  by  the  com- 
ing of  three  capable  young  couples 
from  America  to  help  us  in  the  work.  These 
were  C.  V.  Achenbach  and  wife,  John  M. 
Howell  and  wife,  and  R.  Nelson  and  wife. 
While  they  were  taking  training  at  the  home 
station,  getting  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
work,  my  wife  and  I were  left  freer  to  go 
among  the  people  in  the  more  distant  dis- 
tricts. 

We  decided  to  visit  some  of  the  districts 
where  interests  had  been  created.  Three 
trusty  Indians  accompanied  us.  The  first 
place  we  went  to  was  the  province  of  the  Es- 
quinas.  We  had  previously  organized  a school 
there,  with  an  Indian  in  charge.  We  found 
them  holding  their  school  sessions  out  of  doors, 
because  enemies  had  demolished  the  school 
building  one  night  a few  weeks  before. 

Our  next  stop  was  Jollini,  about  fifty  miles 
to  the  north  of  Esquinas.  When  we  had  gone 
about  thirty  miles,  we  found  some  Indians 
waiting  for  us.  They  had  heard  that  we  were 

(233) 


234  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

coming  to  see  them,  and  had  been  waiting  in 
the  road  for  a number  of  days.  They  accom- 
panied us,  running  beside  the  horses,  and 
easily  keeping  up  with  them  the  whole  re- 
maining twenty  miles.  It  was  after  dark 
when  we  arrived.  The  Indians  were  delighted 
to  see  us,  especially  Mrs.  Stahl,  whom  they 
had  invited  to  visit  them.  They  tried  in  every 
way  to  make  her  comfortable;  but  of  course 
the  best  they  have  is  very  crude.  We  slept 
on  the  earth  floor,  and  the  mountain  wind 
blew  through  the  hut.  Little  grows  in  these 
high,  cold  regions,  and  we  could  not  take 
much  food  in  our  baggage.  It  is  a problem 
to  get  feed  for  the  horses.  But  the  Lord  helps 
as  we  work  for  Him,  even  in  the  most  try- 
ing conditions. 

We  held  meetings  every  day  with  these 
people.  We  found  them  quite  well  informed 
in  regard  to  the  gospel,  as  our  native  worker, 
Luciano,  had  done  excellent  work  among 
them  for  several  months.  Here  we  baptized 
twenty-five  very  dear  people,  and  opened  a 
school  with  seventeen  pupils.  We  placed  in 
charge  a strong  native  worker,  who  had  taken 
about  two  years’  training  at  the  home  station. 
We  left  them  very  happy.  “Now  we  have  a 


(235) 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stahl  About  to  Start  for  a Visit  Among  the  Indians 


236  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

real  school  and  a real  church,”  they  said. 
They  told  us  they  were  tired  of  idols,  images 
of  stone  and  wood  and  mud.  One  woman  in- 
formed us  that  she  had  thrown  the  image  of 
St.  Peter  into  the  lake  two  months  before,  and 
it  hadn’t  returned  yet,  so  she  knew  that  it 
was  no  god. 

One  thing  that  makes  an  Indian  happy 
above  all  other  things  is  to  learn  that  he,  a 
poor,  downtrodden  Indian,  can  go  to  God 
just  as  he  is,  without  first  having  to  talk  to 
dead  saints  about  his  needs. 

Just  before  we  left  this  place,  an  Indian 
came  from  Quenuani  to  guide  us  to  his  dis- 
trict. It  is  well  that  he  did;  for  our  road 
led  through  a twelve-mile  swamp,  and  we 
could  not  possibly  have  picked  our  way  alone 
over  the  soft  ground. 

We  were  much  impressed  with  the  advan- 
tages at  Quenuani  for  reaching  thousands  of 
Indians.  It  had  boat  connection  with  Boli- 
via and  with  Puno,  our  railway  station  to  the 
coast;  and  there  was  a large  market  located 
at  Yunguyo,  only  three  miles  away,  where  the 
Indians  of  Bolivia  came  in  great  numbers  to 
do  trading.  The  Indians  pleaded  most  ear- 
nestly that  a missionary  be  sent  to  them,  and 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE 


237 


they  wanted  a school  also.  We  promised  to 
send  them  help  as  soon  as  we  had  any  one  to 

send. 

While  we  were  lecturing  among  them,  and 
treating  the  many  sick  they  brought  to  us,  we 
heard  rumors  from  the  town  near,  that  the 
priests  were  inciting  the  people  to  kill  us. 
The  Indians  about  us  seemed  to  be  quite  nerv- 
ous over  the  matter,  and  told  us  there  was 
great  danger  that  the  priests  would  raise  a 
mob  against  us ; but  we  replied  that  as  we  now 
had  religious  freedom  in  Peru,  there  was  no 
likelihood  that  harm  would  come  to  us,  much 
less  that  we  should  be  killed.  We  did  not 
realize  the  viciousness  and  ignorance  of  the 
priests,  nor  to  what  extremes  they  would  go. 

After  we  had  been  there  for  nearly  a week, 
one  morning  we  saw  coming  toward  us,  away 
out  in  the  valley,  a great  crowd  of  people. 
As  they  came  nearer,  we  distinguished  two 
priests  leading  them.  Many  of  the  people 
were  on  horseback,  and  some  were  armed  with 
rifles  and  shotguns.  As  they  came  nearer,  we 
recognized  among  the  crowd  men  of  authority 
from  the  towns  about.  We  could  not  believe 
that  harm  was  meant  for  us.  Near  us  was  a 
building  where  the  priests  usually  held  their 


238  IN  THE  LAND  OE  THE  INCAS 

religious  feasts,  and  we  thought  they  were 
coming  to  celebrate  some  such  service. 

We  noticed  Indians  coming  from  all  direc- 
tions, until  there  were  fully  five  hundred  gath- 
ered together.  The  priests  talked  to  them 
for  two  hours,  and  gave  them  alcohol  to 
drink,  then  led  them  within  one  block  of  the 
hut  where  we  were  staying.  Here  they  ad- 
dressed the  mob  again,  and  we  afterward 
learned  that  they  were  inciting  the  people  to 
kill  us,  telling  them  it  would  be  an  honor, 
and  that  they  would  not  be  punished. 

After  talking  to  them  about  an  hour,  the 
priests  set  off  what  is  called  the  fugata,  a sort 
of  large  skyrocket,  which  is  a signal,  in  these 
savage  sections,  for  attack  at  a bullfight,  or 
anything  of  that  sort.  What  was  our  sur- 
prise to  see  that  insane  mob  led  by  the  lieu- 
tenant governor,  the  authority  that  should 
have  protected  us!  He  was  mounted  on  a 
large  horse,  and  was  calling  to  the  people  to 
surround  our  house. 

We  thought  even  then  that  they  were  only 
trying  to  frighten  us;  but  on  they  came,  gath- 
ering large  stones  as  they  approached.  Many 
were  armed  with  long,  steel-tipped  whips  and 
with  clubs.  The  first  thing  they  did  was  to 


X 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE  239 

cut  loose  our  five  horses,  and  stab  them  with 
knives,  so  that  they  ran  frightened  down  a 
ten-foot  bank,  and  galloped  wildly  off  across 
the  valley.  I tried  to  stop  the  horses,  but 
was  attacked  by  some  of  the  mob,  and  struck 
several  times  with  stones.  One  stone  wounded 
me  severely  on  the  head,  and  the  blood  blinded 
me.  I almost  fell;  but  Mrs.  Stahl  pulled  me 
into  the  hut  and  closed  the  door,  just  in  time 
to  avoid  another  terrible  volley  of  missiles. 

In  another  moment,  however,  hundreds  of 
stones  crashed  through  the  door,  smashing  it 
into  bits;  and  the  yard  was  filled  with  shout- 
ing, frantic  Indians.  We  quickly  piled  our 
baggage  in  front  of  the  opening  in  the  door, 
to  prevent  them  from  forcing  their  way  in. 
They  were  shouting  now  loudly  in  the  Indian 
language,  “Pichim  Catum”  which  means, 
“Catch  them  and  burn  them,”  all  the  while 
trying  to  push  the  baggage  aside,  and  strik- 
ing at  us  with  their  steel-tipped  whips.  The 
very  fact  that  so  many  were  trying  to  force 
their  way  in  at  one  time,  retarded  them. 
Above  the  yelling  of  the  Indians,  we  could 
hear  the  laughter  of  the  priests. 

In  all  this  time,  we  had  not  forgotten  to 
seek  the  Lord,  and  we  were  ready  to  meet 


240  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

death  for  Him  if  He  so  willed.  I hastily 
wrote  a few  lines  to  our  coworkers  and  chil- 
dren at  the  home  station,  asking  them  to  go 
on  with  the  work.  Mrs.  Stahl  prayed  with 
and  comforted  the  two  Indian  women  who 
were  with  us  in  the  hut.  Our  three  native 
young  men  were  brave  and  true,  and  were 
only  concerned  for  us.  With  great  difficulty 
did  I restrain  Luciano  from  rushing  out  upon 
the  mob.  Had  he  done  so,  he  would  have 
been  torn  to  pieces  in  a moment. 

At  this  juncture,  the  priests  called  loudly 
to  the  Indians  to  set  fire  to  the  straw  roof; 
and  soon  some  were  coming  with  torches  to 
obey  the  command.  One  of  them  climbed  up 
on  a pile  of  stones  to  light  the  roof ; but  as 
he  applied  the  torch,  the  Indian  woman  who 
owned  the  hut  jumped  up  on  the  stones  be- 
side him,  knocking  him  off,  and  pulled  out 
the  burning  straw  with  her  hands.  Just  as 
she  succeeded  in  tearing  out  the  last  of  it,  she 
fell  down,  and  some  of  the  straw  fell  upon 
her  bare  head,  burning  her  severely.  She 
afterward  proved  to  be  a very  important  wit- 
ness because  of  this. 

At  this  moment,  when  others  of  the  Indians 
were  making  ready  their  torches  to  set  fire  to 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE 


241 


the  hut,  and  we  had  given  up  all  hope  of  res- 
cue, the  whole  mob,  priests  and  all,  withdrew. 
We  came  out  of  the  hut  in  time  to  see  the 
priests  mounting  their  horses  quickly,  and 
fleeing  across  the  valley,  the  mob  following 
them. 

We  asked  a frightened-looking  Indian  who 
stood  near  why  these  people  had  fled  so  pre- 
cipitately. He  said,  “Don’t  you  see  that 
great  company  of  Indians  coming,  all  armed, 
to  defend  you?” 

I did  not  see  them.  I turned  to  Mrs.  Stahl, 
and  asked  her  if  she  did.  She  said,  “No.” 
The  Indian  insisted  that  there  was  a great 
army  of  Indians  coming  to  help  us.  We 
looked  around,  but  could  see  no  one.  We 
know  now  that  God  sent  His  angels  in  that 
form  to  rescue  us.  There  is  no  other  way  to 
account  for  what  occurred. 

As  I was  feeling  very  weak  from  the  loss 
of  blood,  I lay  down  on  the  floor  of  the  hut  to 
regain  my  strength.  Just  at  dusk,  an  Indian 
woman  came  bringing  our  horses.  She  had 
followed  them  for  six  miles,  running  “in  the 
strength  that  the  Lord  gave,”  as  she  herself 
expressed  it.  We  quickly  saddled  our  horses, 


16 


mounted,  and  under  cover  of  a fierce  storm, 
left  the  place. 

We  suffered  intensely  from  cold,  and  our 
clothing  was  wet  through.  But  we  rode  on 
and  on,  the  lightning  sometimes  blinding  us, 
and  at  other  times  showing  us  the  way.  We 
had  heard  that  the  people  in  the  next  town 
also  had  risen  up  against  us,  having  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  priests;  so  our  Indian  breth- 
ren led  us  by  a road  that  did  not  pass  near 
this  place. 

After  we  had  gone  about  fourteen  miles, 
Mrs.  Stahl  told  me  she  was  cold  and  weak, 
and  feared  she  should  fall  from  her  horse, 
and  not  be  able  to  go  on.  We  had  eaten 
scarcely  anything  that  day.  So  we  stopped 
out  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  spread  our 
wet  blankets  on  the  snow,  and  thus  passed 
most  of  the  night.  At  daylight,  we  gathered 
up  our  frozen  blankets,  and  continued  our 
journey  to  the  next  large  town,  which  was 
Juli,  where  we  arrived  about  midday. 

The  authorities  there  had  already  been  in- 
formed of  the  attack  upon  us,  and  were  con- 
siderably exercised  over  the  affair;  and  they 
promised  to  bring  the  guilty  parties  to  jus- 
tice. We  did  not  push  the  matter,  however, 


MMHI 


High  Mountain  Indians 


(243) 


244 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

because  we  believed  that  all  was  permitted  for 
the  advancement  of  the  work,  and  we  were  of 
good  courage.  One  of  the  largest  mission 
stations  we  have  is  now  flourishing  near  the 
place  where  we  were  attacked. 

As  showing  how  this  occurrence  was  re- 
garded by  many  Catholics  even,  I append  a 
translation  of  an  article  published  in  the  Puno 
El  Siglo  of  June  21,  1916: 

“concerning  the  crimes  in  one  of  the 

VILLAGES  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CHUCUITO 

“The  scandalous  events  that  have  just  hap- 
pened in  one  of  the  villages  of  the  Yunguyo 
district,  profoundly  exasperate  the  mind  of 
every  sensible  person. 

“The  priests,  Don  Julio  Tomas  Bravo  and 
Don  Fermin  Manrique,  on  the  fifth  of  the 
present  month,  go  to  Quenuani,  together  with 
twelve  citizens,  heading  a great  multitude 
of  Indians;  they  celebrate  mass  in  the  chapel; 
they  preach  to  the  ignorant  multitude  the  ex- 
termination of  the  unfaithful;  they  frighten 
them  into  setting  out  to  victimize  Mr.  Fer- 
nando Stahl  and  his  wife,  who  are  engaged 
in  establishing  a school  for  the  native  chil- 
dren, in  the  house  of  Clemente  Condor i.  The 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE 


245 


• 


mob  break  into  the  house,  they  attempt  to 
burn  it,  they  throw  stones,  they  howl,  they 
break  the  head  of  the  Protestant  missionary, 
who  miraculously  escapes  with  his  life;  with 
knives  they  hack  and  cut  their  horses,  making 
flight  impossible.  Meanwhile,  the  Catholic 
priests,  those  sainted  (?)  men,  with  the  in- 
stinct of  Nero,  rejoice  over  their  work,  laugh, 
and  celebrate  the  mortifying  and  criminal 
scene. 

“Such  is  the  savage  act  which,  to  the  shame 
of  the  province  of  Chucuito  and  of  the  re- 
public, has  been  committed  by  those  who 
style  themselves  representatives  of  that  be- 
nignant apostle  and  martyr  of  humanity 
called  Jesus  Christ. 

“Without  any  doubt,  there  will  be  none, 
however  strong  an  apostolic  and  Roman 
Catholic  he  may  be,  who  will  fail  to  denounce 
and  condemn  the  brutal  outrages  that  have 
been  committed,  after  the  celebration  of  a 
mass  in  which  justices  of  the  peace,  lieutenant 
governors,  and  other  notables,  implored  the 
Most  High  to  kill,  rob,  and  burn  the  human 
devils , and  this  in  the  twentieth  century  and 
in  the  full  light  of  day. 


246  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

“Now  we  wish  to  know:  What  sentiments, 
what  ideals,  what  passions,  what  motives,  or 
what  commands  have  been  fulfilled  or  inter- 
preted in  this  form? 

“The  Indian  does  not  even  forebode  that 
his  religious  sentiments  — if  such  name  may 
be  given  the  gross  fanaticism  in  which  the 
clergy  have  maintained  him  for  so  many  cen- 
turies— may  either  suffer  detriment  or  find 
support,  in  the  inoffensive  establishment  of 
two  Yankees,  who  generously  cure  sickness, 
dispense  remedies,  and  teach  the  people  to 
read,  gratis ; and  who  prohibit  the  vicious 
dances  at  the  festivals,  the  use  of  alcohol  and 
coca,  etc. 

“Is  it  perchance  true  that  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  authorize,  teach,  and  give  rules  to 
burn,  spoil,  and  kill  those  who  do  not  believe 
in  the  holy  Gospels? 

“No!  In  its  blessed  teaching,  we  have  the 
greatest  liberty  as  concerns  the  observance 
and  preaching  of  its  doctrines.  The  Nazarene 
said,  ‘Let  him  that  will,  take  his  cross  and 
follow  Me.’  So  that  whoever  oppose  these 
principles  are  nothing  less  than  the  eternal 
Pharisees,  who  also  merit  the  eternal  punish- 
ment. 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE 


247 


“The  passions  of  the  people  have  not  been 
aroused,  however  much  they  may  be  suscep- 
tible to  exasperation,  on  being  wounded  in 
their  pride,  in  their  desires,  or  in  the  faith 
they  profess.  Their  temperament  and  psy- 
chology are  only  too  well  known.  They  are 
not  capable  of  assuming  intemperate  or  crimi- 
nal attitudes,  in  defense  of  or  against  ques- 
tions whose  consequences  the  majority  do  not 
understand,  and  of  which  the  rest  care  little, 
and  some  have  even  clear  ideas,  about  the 
benefits  experienced  by  those  of  the  evan- 
gelical mission,  with  the  humanitarian  work 
being  done  at  La  Plateria,  for  example. 

“The  motives  which  the  assailants  have  had 
are  not  mysterious.  This  is  clear:  They  have 
pretended  to  frighten  the  missionaries,  by 
means  of  an  infamous  rabble,  without  under- 
standing the  high  purposes  of  their  adver- 
saries. Or  perhaps  they  have  maliciously 
and  ridiculously  belittled  their  work,  without 
taking  into  account  their  great  moral 
strength,  their  powerful  perception,  and  how 
unconquerable  they  are  in  their  enterprises. 
But  have  these  who  projected  the  scandal, 
measured  the  results  they  could  produce  by 
inciting  a wild,  ignorant,  and  drunken  mob 


248  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

to  fall  upon  defenseless  beings  — or  have  they 
always  taken  into  account  that  they  feared 
the  power  of  the  devils?  — It  is  a miracle 
that  tragic  consequences  are  not  to  be  la- 
mented at  this  time. 

“In  the  disgraceful  evil,  no  other  force, 
then,  has  dominated  than  that  which  the 
worthless  animal  resorts  to  in  his  own  stupid 
defense.  It  matters  not  whether  it  comes 
from  the  common  priest  or  the  highest  church 
functionary. 

“For  more  than  three  hundred  years,  the 
priests  have  kept  the  native  race  in  the  most 
deplorable  and  inhuman  condition,  reaping 
the  profits  of  their  work,  worse  than  parasites. 
Nor  can  they  or  any  one  else  say  that  the 
government  is  responsible  for  such  a situa- 
tion. The  governing  of  the  state  has  always 
been  managed  Jesuitically  by  them,  who  have 
never  concerned  themselves  with  establishing 
even  a school  to  instruct  the  flock,  which  is 
their  duty.  The  result  is  that  they  are  to 
blame  for  the  present  situation:  they  have 
sold  the  sheep,  and  as  Judas,  they  should  pay 
for  their  sin  and  faults.  It  is  only  now  that 
they  are  profoundly  troubled  by  the  awaken- 


_ ^ jjt'.  1-j^ . 


(249) 


The  Island  of  the  Sun,  Lake  Titicaca 


250  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

ing  of  the  race  which  for  their  own  benefit 
they  always  wish  to  keep  in  subjection. 

“If,  as  vicars  of  Jesus  Christ  and  ministers 
of  the  holy  mother  church,  they  were  moral, 
honorable,  charitable,  or  even  good  spirits, 
they  would  merit  respect,  and  would  receive 
social  consideration.  But  just  look!  They 
commit  crime,  robbery,  and  murder,  to  oppose 
the  propaganda  which  they  consider  noxious, 
rather  than  rely  on  good  example,  doctrine, 
and  virtue.  It  is  clear  that  they  must  be  de- 
nounced and  repudiated. 

“The  same  individual  who  at  La  Plateria 
joined  in  the  attack  with  the  imbeciles  who 
accompanied  Bishop  Ampuero,  to-day  is  com- 
mitting assaults  at  the  head  of  the  armed 
band  in  Quenuani.  Behold  the  fruit  of  im- 
punity. 

“The  same  one  who  in  this  city  at  least 
aided  in  plundering  the  church  of  St.  Peter 
of  its  wrought  silver,  to-day  directs  the  as- 
sault against  the  messengers  of  civilization. 
Behold  the  result  of  silence,  of  inaction,  which 
sooner  or  later  become  accomplices  of  crime. 

“The  healing  streams  of  the  century  have 
brought  us  the  evangelists,  those  truly  Chris- 
tian spirits,  who,  better  than  the  priests,  have 


A MYSTERIOUS  RESCUE  251 

a respect  for  the  images  of  the  saints  and  the 
faith  of  their  enemies,  for  they  are  charitable, 
or,  more  than  that,  philanthropic  and  humane. 
Let  us  help  them  in  their  blessed  mission. 

“Now  we  know  that  the  priests,  for  the 
greater  part,  by  their  frequent  scandals, 
criminally  intermeddling  with  the  interests 
and  business  of  civil  and  political  life,  have 
made  themselves  intolerable.  Let  us  curb 
them  in  their  abuses,  demanding  penal  sanc- 
tion, with  the  respect  due  to  men,  the  laws, 
order,  culture,  and  foreign  sentiments. 

“If  a clergyman  commit  crimes  like  the 
pickpocket,  like  the  robber  or  assassin,  let  him 
learn  morality  behind  the  bars  of  the  prison, 
since  from  the  pulpit  he  preaches  iniquity. 

“And  if  the  evangelists  show  themselves 
irreverent,  disrespectful,  or  if  they  demoralize 
and  corrupt  the  Indians,  denounce  them  with- 
out leniency  before  the  constituted  authorities. 
The  laws  guard,  constrain,  and  protect  every- 
body equally. 

“June  18,  1916. 

“(Signed  by) 

“Some  Catholics  that  have  always  re- 
pudiated the  attitude  of  the  priests.,, 


252  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

We  cannot  expect  to  go  on  with  a work  of 
this  kind  without  meeting  serious  opposition 
from  Satan,  as  he  is  angry  when  he  sees  the 
truth  taking  hold  of  hundreds  of  these  poor, 
deceived  Indians,  and  corruption  and  wicked- 
ness giving  way  to  pure  lives.  “Go,”  is  the 
command;  and  on  we  shall  go  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord. 

Those  two  priests  have  since  died.  Priest 
Manrique  called  upon  us  for  help  in  his  last 
illness.  Everything  possible  was  done  for 
him,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  Priest  Bravo,  as 
yet  a young  man,  and  the  leader  of  the 
assault  at  Quenuani,  died  at  Moho  in  June, 
1919,  of  a terrible  fever,  with  only  a few  In- 
dians to  wait  upon  him;  and  because  of  fear 
of  contagion,  no  friends  accompanied  his  re- 
mains to  the  grave,  three  Indians  having  been 
hired  for  that  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XV 


Enemies  Disarmed 

WE  were  now  able  to  establish  four 
new  mission  stations,  and  we  found 
that  persecution  was  growing  less  and 
less.  Some  of  our  former  enemies  from  the 
villages  near  were  sending  to  us  for  medical 
help. 

A messenger  came  from  a village  some  dis- 
tance from  the  home  station,  asking  me  to 
attend  a sick  family  at  that  place.  As  I 
called  at  the  house,  a servant  opened  the  door, 
and  the  host  approached  me,  asking  if  I re- 
membered him.  I confessed  that  I had 
no  recollection  of  having  seen  him  before. 
“Well,”  he  said,  “I  was  subprefecto  in  Puno 
five  years  ago,  when  you  and  another  man 
called  upon  me,  and  I did  not  treat  you  very 
kindly.”  I remembered  him  then,  but  he  had 
greatly  changed  in  looks. 

Elder  J.  W.  Westphal  and  I had  called 
upon  this  man  in  the  interest  of  our  Indian 
work;  and  as  we  explained  it  to  him,  he  be- 
came very  angry,  savagely  shaking  his  fist  in 
our  faces,  and  told  us  he  would  do  all  he  could 
to  hinder  us.  I had  lost  sight  of  him  since, 

(253) 


254  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

as  he  was  removed  from  his  post  shortly  after 
our  visit. 

He  said  further,  “At  that  time,  I got  out 
petitions  against  you  and  your  work.”  He 
told  me  of  other  things  he  had  done  to  injure 
us,  that  I had  not  even  suspected.  Finally 
he  said:  “Now  I know  better.  In  fact,  I 
wanted  to  tell  you  long  ago  that  I was  sorry, 
and  have  wanted  to  visit  you;  but  each  time, 
my  courage  has  failed,  and  I have  passed  by 
your  house.” 

He  said  he  was  now  our  friend,  and  had 
been  such  for  some  time.  I assured  him  I was 
glad  to  meet  him  as  a friend.  I told  him 
that  naturally,  at  the  time,  I felt  bad,  but  that 
God  had  turned  all  opposition  for  the  good  of 
the  work.  I have  since  been  in  his  family 
many  times,  helping  them  in  their  sicknesses; 
and  he  has  kept  his  word,  and  has  proved  to 
be  a stanch  friend. 

Not  long  after  this,  I received  a call  from 
the  village  that  had  been  foremost  in  persecut- 
ing us.  The  messenger  came  at  midnight, 
rapping  loudly  on  the  door.  I hastily  got  up 
and  went  to  the  door,  and  he  imploringly 
said:  “Please  come  at  once.  One  of  the 
prominent  men  of  the  village  is  very  ill.” 


Our  Second  Mission  Station 


I asked,  “Who  is  it?” 

“Oh,  it  is  one  of  the  prominent  men  there,” 
he  said,  evading  my  question. 

I dressed,  and  taking  up  the  saddle  bags  in 
which  I kept  my  medicines,  started  out  of 
doors.  He  said:  “You  do  not  have  to  bother 
about  saddling  your  horse.  r I have  brought 
an  extra  horse  for  you.” 


I mounted,  and  the  messenger  led  the  way 


go,  but  he  did  not  spare  the  horses.  Re- 
peatedly I asked  who  the  sick  man  was;  but 
the  messenger  always  cunningly  evaded  my 
questions. 


by  three  men,  the  mayor,  the  governor,  and 
the  judge  of  the  district.  I dismounted,  and 


At  my  question,  they  appeared  to  be  very 
nervous,  and  avoided  answering  directly,  say- 
ing that  the  man  had  been  sick  for  some  time, 
and  now  had  taken  a dangerous  turn,  and 
asked  if  I would  come  and  take  care  of  him. 

“Why,”  I answered,  “that  is  what  I came 
for.” 

“Well,  we  didn’t  know,”  they  said,  “whether 
you  would  take  care  of  him  or  not.” 


at  a furious  pace.  We  had  twenty  miles  to 


As  we  rode  into  the  village,  we  were  met 


shaking  hands,  inquired  who  the  sick  man  was. 


ENEMIES  DISARMED 


257 


“Most  assuredly  I will.  That  is  what  I 
came  for,”  I repeated,  “and  every  moment  is 
valuable  if  this  man  is  as  ill  as  you  say  he  is.” 
Finally  the  judge  said,  “It  is  the  priest, 
Molino.” 

I confess  that  at  the  mention  of  that  name, 
I was  taken  aback  somewhat  for  an  instant, 
because  some  weeks  before,  the  priest  named 
had  incited  a mob  of  Indians  to  kill  us.  But 
I answered  almost  immediately:  “I  am  here  to 
do  all  the  good  I can.  Lead  the  way.  I am 
very  glad  to  take  care  of  this  man.” 

They  then  quickly  led  me  into  the  priest’s 
house,  and  into  his  room,  where  he  lay  suffer- 
ing most  intensely.  I was  able,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  to  relieve  him  of  his  pain  in  a few 
moments.  He  thanked  me  over  and  over 
again,  telling  me  of  the  terrible  agony  he  had 
suffered  for  the  past  three  days. 

I informed  the  priest  that  he  woidd  need  an 
operation  to  effect  a permanent  cure,  and  that 
the  best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  go  down  to 
one  of  the  large  coast  cities,  where  he  could 
get  surgical  help.  He  consented  to  do  this; 
and  as  I was  about  to  leave  him,  he  said:  “Oh, 
do  not  leave  me,  please!  Stay  with  me,  and 


17 


258  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

go  with  me  to  the  railway  station.”  I as- 
sented. 

He  immediately  gave  orders  for  a bed  to  be 
made,  upon  which  he  could  be  carried  to  the 
railway  station,  two  days’  journey  from  this 
place.  Then  some  forty  Indians  were  called 
together  to  act  as  carriers.  The  following 
morning,  we  started  out,  the  Indians,  as  they 
carried  the  priest,  relieving  one  another  with- 
out stopping.  We  were  accompanied  by  ten 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  village. 

The  priest  insisted  that  I ride  his  horse,  and 
keep  close  beside  him.  Every  once  in  a while, 
he  put  out  his  hand  to  see  if  I was  still  by  his 
side.  As  we  hastily  made  our  way  along  the 
road,  through  the  thickly  populated  districts, 
the  people  stared  at  us  in  open-mouthed  as- 
tonishment; and  in  one  village,  I heard  some 
exclaim  in  great  surprise,  as  they  recognized 
us  both:  “What  is  this  we  see?  Is  the  priest 
the  prisoner  of  the  evangelist,  or  is  the 
evangelist  the  prisoner  of  the  priest?” 

Late  in  the  night  of  the  second  day,  we 
reached  the  railway  station.  When  the  train 
pulled  in,  I helped  the  priest  aboard,  tucked 
the  blankets  around  him,  and  gave  him  some 
medicine  that  would  relieve  his  suffering  until 


ENEMIES  DISARMED  259 

he  should  reach  his  destination.  He  went 
down  to  the  coast  city  and  had  his  opera- 
tion, and  in  two  months  returned  to  his  dis- 
trict a well  man,  and  very  friendly  to  us. 

Other  priests  of  that  same  district  were  not 
friendly,  however,  and  did  all  they  could  to 
keep  the  people  from  us,  but  without  success. 
When  they  called  us  devils,  and  told  the 
people  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  us,  the 
people  would  only  laugh  at  them,  and  say: 
“Oh,  you  want  to  keep  us  away  from  a good 
thing!  When  you  get  sick,  you’ll  call  the 
evangelist  right  away.”  And  so  the  priests 
lost  their  influence  throughout  that  district. 

Besides  the  main  station  at  La  Plateria,  we 
have  now  (1919)  three  other  large  mission 
stations  in  charge  of  missionaries  from  the 
United  States,  and  two  substations  in  charge 
of  Indians,  who  have  been  trained  at  La 
Plateria.  At  each  of  these  stations,  there  is  a 
large  school.  In  addition  to  these,  we  have  in 
neighboring  provinces  twenty  other  schools 
for  the  Indians.  There  are  over  two  thousand 
children  in  daily  attendance  in  these  schools. 
Over  1,500  Indians  have  been  baptized,  and 
thousands  more  are  studying  the  gospel,  pre- 
paratory to  being  baptized. 


260  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

The  great  need  is,  men  and  means  to  for- 
ward the  work.  That  is  the  only  lack.  We 
have  the  open  doors.  The  teacher  that  comes 
here  does  not  have  to  advertise.  He  no  more 
than  lands  when  a crowd  takes  possession  of 
him  and  carries  him  off  as  their  teacher.  One 
of  the  prime  needs  is  a training  school  wherein 
Indians  can  be  trained  to  become  efficient 
laborers  for  their  own  people. 

The  Indians  who  give  up  the  use  of  alcohol 
and  cocaine  soon  have  means,  which  they  use 
to  buy  better  clothes,  and  to  furnish  their 
little  huts  with  some  very  necessary  articles, 
like  tables,  dishes,  knives,  forks,  and  spoons. 
On  these  little  tables  in  the  Indian  huts  now 
may  be  seen  hymn  books,  Bibles,  literature  of 
the  day,  and  schoolbooks  for  the  children. 


Communion  Services  Among  the  Indians 


CHAPTER  XVI 


The  Quichuas  Calling  for  Help 

FOR  over  a year,  Quichua  Indians  had 
been  coming  to  us  from  the  immense  dis- 
trict of  Sandia  and  the  province  of 
Cuzco,  asking  for  teachers  to  come  and  teach 
them  as  we  had  been  doing  for  the  Aymaras. 
There  are  over  a million  and  a half  of  these 
Quichua  Indians  living  in  the  Cuzco  and 
Sandia  regions.  In  their  habits,  they  do  not 
differ  from  the  Aymaras;  but  they  are  of  a 
milder  disposition. 

Up  to  1917,  our  work  had  been  altogether 
for  the  Aymaras.  We  were  not  able  to  meet 
all  the  calls  from  them;  and  that  is  one  reason 
why  we  had  delayed  entering  the  Quichua  ter- 
ritory. Even  at  the  present  writing  (1919), 
there  are  among  the  Aymaras  many  districts 
that  are  waiting  patiently  for  a teacher. 
Every  day  or  two,  some  Indian  conies  and 
asks  us,  “Has  our  teacher  come?”  They  are 
determined  to  get  the  next  teachers  as  soon  as 
they  arrive  on  the  ground.  They  are  watch- 
ing so  closely  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
smuggle  a teacher  over  to  the  Quichuas,  even 
if  we  wanted  to  do  so. 


(261) 


262  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

When  the  Quichuas  first  came  to  this  mis- 
sion, they  would  stand  at  a distance ; but  when 
we  smiled  at  them,  they  came  into  the  mission 
yard,  and  we  would  welcome  them,  and  in 
every  way  make  them  feel  at  home. 

I had  often  wondered  what  we  would  do  for 
an  interpreter  when  we  were  ready  to  go 
among  the  Quichuas;  but  God  provided.  A 
few  months  before  they  began  coming  to  us, 
an  old  Quichua  came  along  one  day  with  his 
son,  and  asked  permission  to  place  him  in  our 
day  school.  We  were  pleased  to  receive  the 


The  First  Messengers  from  the  Quichuas 


THE  QUICHUAS  CALLING  FOR  HELP  263 

young  man.  He  advanced  rapidly,  and  has 
proved  a jewel.  He  went  with  me  on  my  first 
trip  among  the  Quichuas,  and  did  excellent 
work,  showing  a real  interest. 

When  the  first  messengers  from  this  tribe 
came  to  us,  we  were  so  busy  that  we  were  not 
able  to  visit  them.  But  more  and  more  mes- 
sengers came,  imploring  us  to  go  to  their  dis- 
tant district.  At  one  time,  five  came  from 
Sandia,  seven  days’  journey  ov£r  the  moun- 
tains, and  arrived  just  as  we  had  left  the 
mission  to  take  a trip  among  the  Aymaras. 
When  they  were  told  that  we  would  be  gone 
for  three  weeks,  they  simply  said,  “We  will 
wait  until  they  come  back,  because  we  cannot 
go  without  them  this  time.” 

When  I returned  from  my  journey,  and 
saw  how  anxious  these  people  were  to  have 
me  visit  their  district,  it  touched  my  heart; 
and,  although  I was  tired,  and  much  work  was 
waiting  for  me,  I prepared  to  go  with  them 
the  very  next  day. 

The  fifth  day  we  were  out,  we  reached  the 
town  of  Cojata,  situated  at  an  altitude  of 
fourteen  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  snow,  and  the  air 
was  very  cold.  The  sixth  day,  we  crossed  the 


264  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

great  divide,  at  seventeen  thousand  feet.  The 
weather  was  bitterly  cold,  and  a blizzard  was 
raging.  Our  faces  were  cut  with  the  driving 
snow,  and  our  lips  were  bleeding. 

My  mule,  Samson,  began  to  bleed  from  the 
mouth;  and  the  other  one  bled  at  the  nose. 
To  make  matters  worse,  the  snow  soon  hid 
the  trail.  There  are  many  warm  springs  on 
this  mountain  table-land;  and  as  the  snow  hid 
them  from  sight,  our  animals  would  often 
plunge  into  one,  and  become  fast  in  the  mire. 
After  several  experiences  of  this  kind,  the 
mules  became  so  nervous  we  had  hard  work 
to  make  them  go  forward.  When  we  got  into 
one  of  these  miry  places,  the  best  thing  to  do 
was  to  force  the  animals  through  it,  and  get 
across  to  the  other  side,  if  possible. 

Once  we  found,  when  we  reached  solid 
ground,  that  we  were  in  a trap.  All  around 
us  was  a wide  stretch  of  this  miry  ground. 
We  could  not  return  by  the  way  we  had  come, 
because  the  water  had  risen  and  melted  the 
snow,  making  it  much  worse  than  before. 
Our  Quichua  guides  made  the  circle  several 
times,  trying  to  find  a place  where  we  could 
get  out.  Finally  one  of  them  said  he  thought 
he  had  found  a way  by  which  we  would  be 


(265) 


Among  the  Indians  of  the  High  Mountain  Region,  Elevation  16,000  Feet 


«*  Vs  . 

266  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

able  to  reach  solid  ground.  When  we  came 
where  he  was,  we  noticed  little  islands,  as  it 
were,  about  two  feet  across  and  five  feet 
apart.  The  mules  would  be  able  to  jump 
from  one  of  these  to  another,  and  make  the 
other  side. 

But  I was  deeply  concerned  about  my  mule 
Samson.  He  was  a high-spirited  animal,  and 
of  powerful  build,  and  had  a will  all  his  own. 
I wondered  whether  I could  make  him  jump 
from  one  of  the  islands  to  another.  One  of 
the  guides  got  his  animal  over  all  right;  and 
as  I was  worrying  about  starting  mine,  sud- 
denly, without  a word  from  me,  Samson  made 
one  desperate  leap,  and  landed  on  the  first 
island,  then  jumped  to  another,  then  to  the 
third,  and  then  on  to  solid  ground,  before 
I had  a chance  to  get  a second  breath. 

I have  had  a better  opinion  of  mules  ever 
since.  They  certainly  have  good  common 
sense.  And  I want  to  say,  right  here,  a word 
about  that  mule  of  mine.  He  has  taken  me 
thousands  of  miles  over  these  mountains,  and 
has  never  failed  me.  Often,  after  observing 
his  faithfulness,  and  his  grit  and  courage,  I 
have  breathed  a prayer,  “Lord,  make  me  as 
faithful  in  my  sphere  as  Samson  is  in  his.” 


THE  QUICHUAS  CALLING  FOR  HELP  267 

If  there  are  to  be  any  animals  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  I hope  that  dear  old  Samson  will 
be  there. 

That  night,  we  slept  in  an  old,  dilapidated 
hut.  I say  we  slept,  but  in  fact  we  could  not 


“Treasures  of  Snow  and  Hail” 

sleep.  The  wet  snow  kept  coming  through 
the  roof,  and  after  a few  hours,  it  became  so 
cold  we  could  not  endure  it  any  longer,  so  we 
decided  to  continue  our  journey.  The  follow- 
ing day  was  a repetition  of  the  day  before. 
The  snow  continued  to  fall,  and  the  trail  was 


268  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

lost  to  sight.  Only  by  the  course  of  the  moun- 
tain range  could  the  guides  tell  the  way. 

In  the  afternoon,  however,  we  reached  the 
end  of  the  high  plateau  over  which  we  had 
been  traveling,  and  started  to  go  down.  We 
had  found  the  trail  again.  After  a few 
hours’  hard  riding,  we  entered  a small  valley. 
The  road  led  beside  a mountain  torrent,  on 
each  side  of  which  were  Indian  huts.  Soon 
Indians  began  to  gather,  gazing  at  us  in  fear 
and  wonder,  until  our  guide  called  to  them 
in  a loud  voice.  Then  there  was  great  excite- 
ment. The  guide  had  told  them  that  I was 
the  missionary.  They  had  been  expecting  me; 
and  they  began  to  run  in  every  direction,  call- 
ing to  others.  Some  ran  ahead  of  us.  Our 
head  guide  himself  became  so  excited  that  he 
started  off  on  a gallop,  leaving  us  to  find  our 
way  the  best  we  could. 

A turn  in  the  road  revealed  a large  Indian 
house  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  with  many 
Indians  gathered  near,  and  some  standing 
upon  the  roof.  I concluded  that  this  must  be 
the  place  where  we  were  to  stop,  and  in  this 
I was  right.  When  I had  dismounted  from 
my  mule,  Indian  men,  women,  and  children 
threw  their  arms  about  me  with  loud  exclama- 


(269) 


Indian  Teachers  Now  in  the  Field 


270  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

tions  of  joy.  I had  never  received  a warmer 
welcome  in  all  my  life.  This  reception  made 
up  for  many  of  the  hardships  I had  suffered 
on  the  way.  As  this  was  my  first  experience 
with  the  Quichua  Indians  at  close  range,  it 
encouraged  me  to  believe  that  our  work  would 
make  progress  among  them. 

The  days  that  followed  seemed  to  bear  out 
this  hope.  The  people  enjoyed  the  singing, 
they  took  delight  in  the  Word  of  God  as  it 
was  explained  to  them,  and  in  prayer  they 
gave  the  most  reverential  attention. 

They  had  erected  a new  hut  especially  for 
my  use.  The  old  chief  took  me  by  the  arm 
and  led  me  into  this  hut;  and  I saw  that  it 
had  been  plastered, — something  the  Indians 
do  not  usually  do  to  their  own  houses, — and 
that  there  was  clean  straw  on  the  floor.  The 
chief  said:  “Father,  we  have  built  this  house 
for  you.  We  want  you  to  stay  with  us  a 
year.”  I replied  that  I couldn’t  stay  with 
them  so  long.  I told  him  of  the  sick  people 
I had  to  care  for,  and  of  the  other  work  I 
had  to  do. 

“Well,”  he  said,  “then  stay  six  months.” 
“Oh,”  I said,  “I  couldn’t  stay  six  months.” 
Then  he  got  down  to  tlyee  months.  I 


THE  QUICHUAS  CALLING  FOR  HELP  271 


finally  told  him  that  I would  stay  with  them 
a few  weeks,  and  would  return  to  them  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  perhaps  bring  a teacher 
to  stay  with  them.  This  seemed  to  satisfy 
them. 

The  meetings  that  followed  were  wonderful 
occasions.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  present  in 
a marked  manner.  Hearts  were  impressed, 
and  many  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus.  In 
one  of  the  meetings,  an  old  chief  was  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  crowd,  and  I noticed  that 
tears  were  streaming  down  his  cheeks.  Sud- 
denly he  raised  his  hand,  and  exclaimed  in  a 
loud  voice:  “O  my  people,  heaven  has  come  to 
us!  This  is  nothing  less  than  heaven  that  has 
come  to  us!” 

I had  heard  many  strong  expressions  among 
these  poor  heathen  people  in  my  nine  years 
of  work  for  them,  but  never  had  I heard  an- 
other expression  that  affected  me  quite  as 
this  one  did.  To  be  a messenger  to  bring 
heaven  to  the  people  is  something  to  be  glad 
for.  These  words  have  kept  ringing  in  my 
ears  ever  since,  and  have  been  the  means  of 
spurring  me  on  to  more  faithful  work. 


In  Perils  Oft 


AS  we  were  making  preparation  to  re- 
turn to  Plateria,  after  a stay  of  a few 
weeks  among  the  Quichuas,  two  mes- 
sengers came  running  in  one  evening,  and 
said  excitedly  that  the  priests  from  the  town 
of  Sandia,  twenty-four  miles  distant,  were 
inciting  the  people  to  come  and  kill  us,  and 
that  the  authorities  were  uniting  with  these 
priests,  and  were  gathering  soldiers  to  arrest 
us  on  the  charge  of  inciting  the  Indians  to 
rebellion  against  the  government.-  The  mes- 
sengers told  us  that  even  at  that  moment,  the 
mob  was  doubtless  on  the  way. 

After  the  experience  we  had  in  Quenuani 
with  the  priests,  I had  no  more  doubt  of  what 
they  were  able  to  do;  so  we  quickly  packed 
our  goods,  and  started  on  our  homeward 
journey,  the  Indians  leading  us  out  of  the 
valley  by  a trail  that  did  not  pass  near  the 
villages.  It  was  well  they  did  this,  as  I after- 
ward learned  that  only  two  hours  after  we 
had  left,  the  great  mob  arrived,  headed  by 
eight  soldiers  who  had  .orders  to  arrest  us. 
It  took  them  some  time  to  find  which  way  we 
(272) 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


273 


had  gone,  as  the  Indians  refused  to  tell  them; 
and  when  they  did  find  out,  we  were  already 
out  of  their  district.  Then  the  Indians  who 
had  housed  us,  and  many  who  had  attended 
the  meetings,  were  taken  prisoners,  driven  to 
the  village  twenty-four  miles  distant,  and  put 
in  jail.  Some  were  placed  in  stocks,  and 
some  were  beaten  and  received  no  food.  Over 
fifty  were  thus  treated,  we  were  informed  by 
messengers  that  escaped  the  guards  and  came 
to  us  two  weeks  afterward. 

We  avoided  all  the  villages,  and  slept  in 
the  mountains.  The  third  day,  we  encoun- 
tered a very  dangerous  trail,  not  more  than 
two  feet  wide  in  some  places.  We  had  to  dis- 
mount, as  there  was  not  room  for  us  to  pass 
mounted.  Our  knees  would  rub  against  the 
wall  of  rock  on  one  side,  and  we  had  to  be 
extremely  careful  not  to  fall  down  the  fright- 
ful precipice  on  the  other  side.  We  had 
thirty  miles  of  this  kind  of  trail.  I walked 
ahead  to  look  out  for  a place  to  pass  in  case 
we  should  meet  any  one  coming  from  the  op- 
posite direction. 

All  went  well  until  we  were  almost  to  the 
end  of  this  narrow  trail.  Then  we  saw  some 
mules  coming  toward  us,  loaded  with  rolls  of 


is 


274  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

sheet  iron,  evidently  going  to  an  interior  mine. 
We  found  a place  where,  by  pulling  our  ani- 
mals’ heads  aside,  and  compelling  them  to 
place  their  fore  feet  up  on  the  high  bank  on 
the  side  of  the  road,  we  could  barely  make 
room  for  the  loaded  ipules  to  pass.  There 
were  seven  of  these  mules.  Three  of  them 
passed  safely;  'but  as  the  fourth  came  along, 
our  black  horse,  Night,  became  frightened, 
and  struggled  to  get  away  from  the  Indian 
that  was  trying  to  hold  him.  Suddenly  his 
hind  feet  went  over,  and  he  plunged  down  the 
precipice,  sometimes  rolling  a few  feet,  then 
bounding  from  one  ledge  to  another  like  a 
ball,  landing  at  times  on  his  feet,  and  again 
on  his  back. 

Far  down  the  mountain  side,  he  finally 
stopped.  I clambered  down  as  fast  as  I 
could,  fully  believing  that  almost  every  bone 
in  his  body  had  been  broken;  but  as  I came 
near  him,  he  made  an  effort  to  rise.  By  a 
word,  I warned  him  to  lie  still.  If  he  did  not, 
lie  would  fall  some  five  hundred  feet  farther 
before  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  canon.  I 
very  carefully  removed  from  him  the  remains 
of  the  saddle  and  ropes,  and  on  examination, 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


275 


found  that  he  did  not  seem  to  be  injured  in 
any  way.  It  was  a miracle. 

The  question  now  was,  how  to  get  him 
back  up  to  the  road.  One  of  my  Indian 
guides  had  come  down  to  me  by  this  time; 
and  we  finally  decided  that  the  only  way  was 
to  zigzag  along  the  steep  mountain  side.  We 
were  obliged  to  go  long  distances  before  we 
could  find  a place  wide  enough  to  allow  us 
to  turn  around.  In  order  to  keep  our  bal- 
ance, we  had  to  go  very  fast.  I went  ahead, 
leading  the  horse;  and  I requested  the  boy 
not  to  spare  the  whip,  but  to  keep  the  horse 
running. 

In  this  way,  after  several  hours  of  hard 
work,  we  finally  reached  the  last  part  of  our 
climb.  Another  hundred  feet  of  running 
would  bring  us  to  a place  four  feet  or  more 
straight  down  from  the  narrow  road.  I told 
the  guide  that  as  soon  as  we  should  arrive  at 
this  steep  place  leading  to  the  road,  he  should 
make  an  extra  effort  to  compel  our  horse  to 
make  the  last  jump;  for  if  he  did  not  succeed 
in  getting  up  on  the  road,  he  would  again  be 
dashed  down  into  the  gorge. 

The  Indian  realized  the  situation.  And  it 
seemed  that  the  horse  also  understood  it;  for 


276  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

when  I,  with  one  great  effort,  had  jumped  up 
to  the  road,  and  the  guide  called  loudly  to  the 
animal,  applying  the  whip  unsparingly,  the 
horse,  with  a wild  scramble,  secured  a footing 
on  the  road. 

Soon  we  entered  the  thickly  populated  dis- 
trict of  Limbani.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
town  of  Crucero,  there  was  a drunken  feast 
in  progress.  I had  seen  many  of  these  reli- 
gious feasts  before,  but  never  had  I seen  one 
carried  on  in  quite  the  way  this  one  was.  To 
be  out  in  the  streets  was  dangerous  to  one’s 
life.  The  fighting  was  horrible  to  see.  Every 
few  minutes  some  one  would  be  carried  from 
the  crowd  in  a terribly  wounded  condition. 
I asked  what  feast  it  was,  and  was  told  that 
it  was  the  feast  of  “Saint  Rosa.” 

I felt  like  weeping  as  I saw  these  hundreds 
of  poor,  deceived  Indians.  They  thought 
they  were  serving  God  in  all  this.  I knew, 
from  experience  in  the  past,  that  there  were 
many  really  noble  people  among  them,  and  I 
longed  to  see  the  day  when  gospel  teachers 
would  be  placed  among  them. 

I thought  of  the  many  Indians  at  the  home 
mission,  who  formerly  had  acted  in  the  same 
way;  and  now  hundreds  of  them  were  sane 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


277 


in  mind  and  well  in  body,  and  were  praising 
the  living  God  for  the  saving  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I thought  of  Luciano  — how,  after 
he  was  baptized,  and  had  been  walking  in 
newness  of  life  for  about  two  years,  his  people 
came  to  him,  and  demanded  that  he  give  up 
all,  threatening  that  if  he  did  not,  he  would  be 
disinherited.  I remember  well  how  he  came 
to  me  at  that  time,  and  asked  what  he  could 
do  to  help  his  people.  Finally  he  went  to 
them  one  night,  and  called  them  together,  and 
told  them  earnestly  that  he  never  would  give 
up  Jesus,  but  that  he  was  willing  to  give  up 
all  for  Jesus.  In  less  than  one  year  from  that 
time,  all  his  people  had  accepted  Christ,  be- 
cause of  Luciano’s  steadfastness. 

At  another  time,  when  he  was  with  me  on 
a journey,  we  stopped  in  a village  to  take  care 
of  some  sick  people  in  the  public  plaza.  The 
judge  of  the  village  came  up  to  Luciano,  and 
demanded  roughly  of  him  what  he  would 
have  been  if  the  missionary  had  not  got  hold 
of  him.  Luciano  looked  up  at.  the  judge,  and 
solemnly  replied:  “Oh,  what  would  I be! 
What  would  I be!  What  are  all  these  poor 
Indians  around  here?  I would  be  in  a drunk- 
ard’s grave  to-day.” 


Luciano,  Our  First  Indian  Pastor,  and  His  Wife 

(278) 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


279 


I thought  of  Antonio  Alberto,  a stalwart 
young  man  who  consecrated  his  life  to  God, 
and  who  carried  his  books  around  with  him  to 
study,  so  that  he  could  become  a teacher  for 
his  people ; and  how,  during  vacation,  he  went 
down  into  the  tropics  of  Peru,  a seven  days’ 
journey  from  his  home,  and 
worked  in  those  malarious 
swamps,  in  order  to  get 
money  to  carry  on  his  studies. 

As  he  was  returning  with  his 
father,  who  had  gone  down 
for  him,  he  suddenly  became 
very  sick;  and  when  they 
reached  the  high  mountain 
regions,  he  could  go  no  far- 
ther. Lying  there  beside  the 
road,  on  those  dreary  moun- 
tain slopes,  dying,  he  reached 
into  his  bosom,  and  took  out 
a small  bundle  of  money, 
which  he  handed  to  his  father, 
and  said,  “Father,  promise 

me  that  when  <you  reach  honorato,  Rescued 
home,  you  will  take  the  tithe  »Y  THE  Gospel  from 

of  this  money  to  the  mission,  ness,  and  Now  a 

n -.11  , n 1 » mi  • TEACHER  AMONG  HlS 

tor  it  belongs  to  G-od.  dhis  Own  People 


280  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

young  man’s  last  thoughts  were  of  his  duty  to 
God.  His  father  buried  him  by  the  roadside 
where  he  fell;  and  I am  sure  that  in  the  day 
of  resurrection,  when  the  angels  of  God  gather 
the  elect  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth, 
Antonio’s  lonely  grave  on  those  mountains 
will  not  be  forgotten. 

I thought  of  old  Brother  Salas  and  his  wife, 
who  were  leaders  in  the  dances  for  many 
years.  His  head  was  marked  with  a hundred 
scars  from  the  many  battles  he  had  taken  part 
in;  and  when  we  first  met  him,  he  was  almost 
insane  from  the  use  of  cocaine.  At  the  very 
first  meeting  we  held  among  the  Indians,  he 
threw  awav  his  coca  leaves;  and  both  he  and 
his  wife  exclaimed,  “Oh,  if  we  had  only  known 
this  before!” 

I well  remember  the  struggle  these  old 
people  had  with  the  cocaine  habit  — how,  when 
the  fierce  longing  for  the  drug  came  upon 
them,  they  would  come  to  us  with  the  sweat 
streaming  down  their  faces,  and  we  would 
kneel  with  them,  and  pray  the  Lord  to  take 
from  them  the  awful  craving.  Well  do  I re- 
member when  the  victory  came  to  them,  and 
how,  in  the  next  prayer  meeting,  when  we 
gave  the  Indians  opportunity  to  testify,  Salas 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


281 


arose,  and  reverently  lifting  up  his  face  to 
heaven,  said:  “Oh,  I thank  Thee,  Thou  God 
of  heaven  and  of  earth,  for  the  hope  of  the 
great  beyond,  and  for  deliverance  from  sin. 
I thank  Thee  for  what  my  ears  have  heard 
about  Thy  Word.  Blessed  be  Thy  holy 
name.  My  days  are  few  upon  this  earth,  but 
I have  in  my  heart  the  joy  of  meeting  my 
Saviour  soon.”  To  see  that  face,  so  expres- 
sive of  love,  thankfulness,  and  holiness,  was 
recompense  for  much  that  we  have  had  to  en- 
dure in  taking  the  good  news  of  salvation  to 
this  neglected  race. 

When  we  first  opened  the  mission,  people 
sneered  at  us,  and  said:  “Oh,  these  Indians 
are  worse  than  beasts ! They  will  not  be  stead- 
fast.” But  those  who  spoke  thus,  reckoned 
without  God  and  His  keeping  power.  Over 
fifteen  hundred  Indians  have  been  baptized; 
and  in  all  these  years,  I do  not  know  of  one 
who  has  deliberately  given  up  the  gospel. 
Again  the  scoffers  said,  “These  Indians  can- 
not comprehend  the  gospel.”  But  the  Lord 
says,  “The  entrance  of  Thy  words  giveth  light; 
it  giveth  understanding  unto  the  simple;” 
and  that  statement  has  been  proved  true 
with  these  people. 


282  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

In  connection  with  this,  Maria,  a beautiful 


Indian  girl  of  eighteen,  comes  to  my  mind. 
This  young  woman  had  been  a regular  at- 
tendant at  the  prayer  and  Sabbath  meetings 
for  many  months;  but  one  Sabbath,  she  failed 
to  appear.  I made  public  inquiry  about  her; 
and  one  man  said,  “Why,  Maria  has  black 
smallpox.” 

The  next  morning  early,  my  wife  and  I 
mounted  our  horses,  and  with  a guide,  climbed 
up  the  steep  mountain  side.  This  took  us 
several  hours.  Then  we  crossed  a plain  over 
twelve  miles  wide,  and  after  that,  went  down 
a steep  descent  — so  steep  that  we  were 
obliged  to  place  our  saddle  girths  well  back  in 
order  that  our  saddles  should  not  slide  over 
the  horses’  heads.  After  we  had  gone  down 
several  thousand  feet,  we  crossed  another  wide 
plain,  fording  two  rivers  on  the  way;  and 
finally,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  came  to  a 
little  hut  there  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains. 
The  guide  said,  “Here  is  where  Maria  lives.” 

When  we  entered  the  hut,  and  our  eyes  be- 
came accustomed  to  the  darkness  within,  we 
saw  Maria  lying  on  the  floor  at  one  side  of 
the  room.  We  called  her  name,  and  she  raised 
herself  up,  and  made  as  if  she  would  embrace 


(283) 


284  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

us;  then,  thinking  of  her  terrible  disease,  she 
fell  back  on  her  bed. 

“Oh,”  she  said,  “I  am  so  glad  you  have 
come  to  visit  me!  I am  so  happy  in  Jesus! 
I am  going  to  die,  but  I am  not  afraid.” 
Then  she  exclaimed,  “Oh,  sing  some  of  those 
beautiful  hymns  to  me,  and  pray  with  me 
now!”  We  prayed  with  her,  and  sang  with 
her,  and  she  joined  in  with  her  feeble  voice. 
When  we  arose  to  go,  she  saw  that  we  were 
weeping,  and  she  said:  “Do  not  weep,  do  not 
feel  bad  for  me,  because  I am  not  afraid.  I 
am  going  to  sleep  in  Jesus;  and  on  the  resur- 
rection day,  I shall  see  you  again.”  The  last 
word  that  she  said  to  us,  as  we  went  out  of 
the  little  door,  was,  “ Ha-ki-sin-ca-ma  ” which 
means,  “Until  I see  you  again.” 

Who  can  say  that  this  Indian  girl  had  not 
grasped  the  great  plan  of  salvation?  Who 
can  say  that  she  did  not  comprehend  the  gos- 
pel? A few  days  after  we  were  there,  she 
died;  but  we  know  that  when  the  Life-giver 
shall  appear,  He  will  raise  Maria  to  immor- 
tal life. 

How  many  times  these  things  have  inspired 
us  to  be  more  faithful,  and  to  go  on  teaching 
the  people!  How  many  times  they  have  kept 


IN  PERILS  OFT 


285 


up  our  courage  when  we  were  suffering  cold 
and  hardship  in  our  work  high  ip  these  moun- 
tain ranges ! Can  you  wonder  that  our  hearts 
bleed  as  we  look  upon  the  hundreds  still  in 
darkness?  Who  would  forbid  us  to  continue 
in  this  gospel  work?  Who  can  turn  away 
their  ears  from  the  cry  of  the  heathen  in  these 
dark  lands,  calling  after  Jesus,  calling  for 
teachers? 

May  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  impel  many 
young  men  and  young  women  to  give  up  their 
worldly  ambitions,  consecrate  their  lives  to 
God,  and  go  out  into  these  needy  fields, 
among  the  people  who  have  never  heard  the 
beautiful  story  of  the  cross.  May  the  Lord 
impress  many  who  cannot  go  out  into  these 
lands,  to  give  liberally  of  the  means  intrusted 
to  them,  that  this  gospel  work  can  go  on. 
Oh,  that  teachers  may  be  sent  into  these  re- 
gions! Shall  we  stop  now?  Shall  we  leave 
these  heathen  without  opportunity  to  know 
the  living  God?  I am  sure  you  will  say,  “Go 
on  with  the  work  for  these  children  of  Christ 
who  sit  in  darkness.” 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


Supplementary  Notes 


GATHERED  FROM  VARIOUS  SOURCES 

THE  beginning  of  the  Lake  Titicaca 
Mission  was  the  conversion  of  the 
Aymara  Indian  Camacho.  He  was 
called  to  the  army  when  young,  and  there  of 
necessity  learned  the  Spanish  language. 
Reading  created  a hunger  for  more  knowl- 
edge, which  was  fed  by  a skeptical,  anti- 
Catholic  Spaniard  he  met  in  the  army.  The 
Spaniard  was  compelled  by  his  enemies  to 
leave  the  country,  and  he  went  to  London. 
He  corresponded  with  Camacho  through  a 
friendly  Catholic  shoemaker  named  Peralta. 
Finally  in  London  the  Spaniard  became  con- 
verted to  the  true  gospel  message ; and  he  sent 
publications  thereon  to  Peralta  and  Camacho/ 
After  various  trials,  Camacho  accepted  the 
truth,  and  was  baptized  in  1910.  Later 
Peralta  also  accepted  the  truth. 

Camacho  opened  a school  for  the  Indians 
about  1909.  This  was  the  beginning  of  mis- 
sion work  in  the  Lake  Titicaca  basin,  and 
from  this  the  mission  has  grown  to  a member- 
(286) 


(287) 


Lake  Titicaca  Colporteurs’  Institute  Held  in  1919 


288  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

ship  of  1,500  or  more,  with  thousands  of 
others  directly  or  indirectly  affected  by  it  for 
the  better.  Not  long  after  the  opening  of 
Camacho’s  school,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stahl  be- 
gan their  work  among  the  Indians.  It  is  well 
to  remember  that  the  Titicaca  Mission,  the 
field  of  Pastor  Stahl’s  labors,  does  not  in- 
clude all  the  old  Inca  empire;  it  is  but  a part 
of  that  field,  the  whole  being  covered  by  the 
Inca  Union  Mission.  There  are  millions  of 
Indians  outside  the  Titicaca  basin  who  are 
reaching  out  for  God. 

Between  the  years  1915  and  1918,  the 
following  workers  responded  to  the  earnest 
appeals  of  Pastor  Stahl  and  others  for  that 
field:  Pastor  and  Mrs.  C.  V.  Achenbach,  Pro- 
fessor and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Howell,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reid  S.  Shepard,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  A.  Nelson, 
Mrs.  and  Mrs.  Ellis  P.  Howard,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  L.  J.  Barrowdale,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orley 
Ford,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Dalinger. 

There  are  two  native  ministerial  licentiates, 
Luciano  Chambi  and  Juan  Huanca,  besides 
a score  or  so  of  native  teachers.  The  last 
S.  D.  A.  Year  Book  (1919)  gives  the  follow- 
ing organization  of  the  Lake  Titicaca  Indian 
Mission : 


SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES  289 

Territory : Departments  of  Puno,  Madre  de 
Dios,  in  Peru;  and  that  part  of  the  basin  of 
Lake  Titicaca  which  is  in  Bolivia. 

Address:  Casilla  28,  Puno,  Peru,  South 
America. 

OFFICERS 

Mission:  Superintendent,  F.  A.  Stahl; 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Reid  S.  Shepard; 
Executive  Committee,  F.  A.  Stahl,  Reid  S. 
Shepard,  C.  V.  Achenbach,  J.  M.  Howell, 
Ellis  P.  Howard. 

Educational  Department:  Superintendent, 
J.  M.  Howell. 

Home  Missionary  Department:  Secretary, 
Reid  S.  Shepard. 

Ministers:  F.  A.  Stahl,  C.  V.  Achenbach. 
Licentiates:  Reid  S.  Shepard,  J.  M.  Howell, 
E.  P.  Howard,  L.  J.  Barrowdale,  Orley  Ford. 

Missionary  Licentiates : David  Dalinger, 
Mrs.  F.  A.  Stahl,  Mrs.  C.  V.  Achenbach, 
Mrs.  Reid  S.  Shepard,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Howell, 
Mrs.  E.  P.  Howard,  Mrs.  L.  P.  Barrowdale, 
Mrs.  Orley  Ford,  Mrs.  David  Dalinger, 
Luciano  Chambi,  Juan  Huanca. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson  were  compelled  to 
leave  the  field  because  of  the  illness  of  Mrs. 
Nelson. 


19 


290 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 


Pastor  Stahl  was  away  from  the  mission 
on  a furlough  during  the  year  1918.  His 
visit  to  the  United  States  aroused  great  in- 
terest in  his  field.  In  the  last  few  weeks  of 
his  stay,  he  hastily  prepared  the  manuscript- 
for  this  book. 

Mrs.  Howard  writes  of  the  curiosity  awak- 
ened by  the  little  portable  organ  Pastor  Stahl 
took  back  with  him  from  the  States.  It  has 
been  of  great  help  in  getting  access  to  the 
wild  Indians. 

The  Umuchi  Mission  recently  opened  with 
Luciano  Chambi  in  charge,  now  numbers  over 
two  hundred  members.  The  last  baptism  re- 
ported was  49. 

When  Pastor  Stahl  was  in  this  country,  a 
boat  was  donated  for  work  on  Lake  Titicaca. 
The  Indians  were  told  of  it,  and  were  told  also 
that  a boathoiise  would  have  to  be  built  of 
stone.  The  next  day,  two  hundred  or  more 
Indians  came  with  ox  teams  and  burros,  and 
hauled  rocks  and  carried  stones  sufficient  for 
the  building.  A dinner  for  them  followed,  of 
which  three  hundred  were  partakers. 

The  Sabbath  school  at  Plateria  numbers 
about  seven  hundred;  and  there  are  but  ten 


SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES 


291 


teachers,  eight  of  whom  are  Indians.  Some 
classes  number  over  seventy-five. 

Mrs.  Stahl’s  nursing  of  the  daughter-in-law 
of  the  president  of  Bolivia  won  the  support 
of  that  gentleman  in  our  work. 

Fernando  Osorio,  teacher  of  our  parochial 
school  in  Lima,  Peru,  in  the  Review  and 
Herald  of  December  26,  1918,  wrote  thus  of 
the  influence  of  our  work  upon  public  men : 

“The  president  of  the  Committee  for  the 
Improvement  of  Public  Instruction,  Dr.  Vin- 
cente Villaran,  through  the  recommendation 
of  Mr.  Encinas,  of  Puno,  invited  Elder  E.  F. 
Peterson,  Brother  H.  B.  Lundquist,  and 
Brother  F.  C.  Varney  to  explain  the  method 
employed  in  our  schools  of  Plateria,  which 
are  called  model  schools  by  Senores  Encinas 
and  Villaran.  The  best  elements  of  the  uni- 
versity and  of  the  Congress  have  a very  live 
interest  in  our  work  for  the  Aymara  Indians. 
They  say  that  it  is  a marvel  that  the  Indians 
learn  habits  of  cleanliness  and  are  becoming 
civilized  so  quickly  under  the  influence  of  the 
Adventists,  while  for  centuries  under  the 
Catholic  Church  they  have  done  nothing. 
They  already  know  the  reason  — the  Holy 
Bible.  . . . 


292  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

“The  Plateria  Mission  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Titicaca  has  exercised  a wonderful  in- 
fluence in  all  Peru.  . . . 

“There  are  other  bills  before  the  Peruvian 
Congress  regarding  civil  marriages,  and  per-‘ 
mitting  Protestant  churches  to  hold  property; 
and  Catholics  are  working  against  them.” 

Professor  W.  W.  Prescott,  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  was  in  the  Titicaca  Mission,  visiting  it 
as  field  secretary  of  missions,  when  this  re- 
ligio-legal  question  was  agitated.  At  that 
time,  protest  was  made  against  Mr.  Stahl’s 
mission,  and  the  awful  wrong  of  which  he  was 
regarded  as  guilty  was  that  he  taught  the 
Indians  to  settle  their  own  difficulties  among 
themselves  instead  of  paying  out  so  much 
money  for  lawyers  and  lawsuits.  But  that  is 
just  what  all  Christians  ought  to  do  — settle 
their  own  difficulties. 

Among  the  riches  first  found  by  Pizarro 
when  he  entered  the  Inca  kingdom  were  the 
emeralds,  of  immense  size  and  worth.  Some 
Spaniards  broke  the  largest  of  the  valuable 
gems,  not  knowing  their  worth.  When  the 
true  nature  of  the  Spaniard  was  discovered, 
many  of  the  mines  were  hidden  by  the  In- 
dians. One  emerald  mine  was  rediscovered  in 


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(293) 


The  Main  Station  as  It  Now  Is 


294  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

1815.  Another  lost  mine  supposed  to  be 
fabulously  rich  has  just  been  rediscovered  in 
Columbia.  The  search  for  it  had  gone  on 
since  the  Indians  buried  it.  Emeralds,  carat 
for  carat,  are  almost  as  valuable  as  diamonds. 
Mr.  Stahl  and  his  coworkers  are  finding  in 
the  Inca  land,  jewels  of  God  more  precious 
than  emeralds  or  rubies  or  diamonds. 

And  still,  in  insistent,  pleading  voices,  the 
calls  are  coming  from  the  Quichua  and 
Aymara  Indians,  Send  us  teachers;  send  us 
men  who  can  lead  us  out  of  the  bondage  of 
drink  and  coca  chewing,  from  the  enslavement 
of  filth  and  vice  and  superstition  of  the 
Egypt  of  the  past,  to  the  promised  land  of 
liberty  and  soberness*  and  deanliness  and 
truth.  Every  call  answered  opens  the  doors 
of  blessing,  and  more  calls  ensue.  Thank 
God.  Let  the  good  work  go  on.  May  the 
Spirit  of  Him  who  said,  “Go  ye,”  rest  in  more 
and  more  abundant  measure  upon  Pastor 
Stahl  and  his  colaborers,  and  may  the  mes- 
sage of  the  gospel  for  this  generation  speedily 
reach  the  millions  of  Indians  in  “the  Neg- 
lected Continent”  who  in  the  darkness  of 
ignorance,  superstition,  and  sin  are  longing 
for  light  and  truth. 


Among  the  Missions  About  Lake  Titicaca 

THE  LAST  WORD  FROM  MR.  STAHL 

( Review  and  Herald,  January  8,  1920) 

THE  work  is  advancing  rapidly  in  this 
mission  these  days.  More  than  three 
hundred  persons  were  baptized  here  dur- 
ing the  first  months  of  this  year  (1919). 
Many  new  calls  are  coming  in,  more  than  we 
can  possibly  answer  this  year. 

At  Pumata  Station,  where  Brother  and 
Sister  Orley  Ford  have  charge,  the  Sabbath 
attendance  has  increased  so  that  the  church 
building,  large  as  it  is,  will  have  to  be  en- 
larged before  the  end  of  the  year.  These 
young  people  are  earnest  workers,  and  are 
having  an  excellent  influence  in  their  district. 

The  mission  station  is  in  a rather  historic 
place.  All  around  the  station  are  the  ancient 
Inca  chulpas , or  tombs.  Not  far  from  the 
mission  home  stands  a gigantic  mountain, 
Mount  Liaquipa,  towering  to  a height  of 
18,000  feet  above  sea  level,  and  measuring 
nine  miles  around  its  base. 

On  the  very  summit  are  many  houses  built 
of  stone.  Even  the  roofs  are  of  stone.  En- 

(295) 


296  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

circling  this  mighty  mountain  are  three  im- 
mense stone  walls  thirty  feet  high,  with  open- 
ings in  them  at  intervals.  A\;  each  opening  is 
the  ruin  of  what  at  one  time  was  a fine  stone 
house.  Evidently  these  were  used  by  guards. 
These  walls  are  about  fifteen  hundred  feet 
apart,  and  are  built  on  the  very  steepest  part 
of  the  mountain.  Everything  about  tfie 
mountain  indicates  that  it  was  fortified  to 
withstand  some  powerful  enemy.  Some  say 
that  at  this  place,  some  of  the  ancient  Inca 
tribes  made  their  last  stand.  Whatever  it 
was,  it  is  now  the  center  of  the  work  of  a 
people  seeking  the  living  God. 

Near  the  base  of  this  mountain,  we  have  a 
thriving  mission,  with  four  fine  schools,  and  an 
average  daily  attendance  of  fifty  children. 
Seventy-five  persons  were  baptized  at  this 
place  at  the  time  of  my  last  visit  there,  thus 
giving  the  church  nearly  three  hundred 
members. 

A few  weeks  ago  Brother  Ford  and  I paid 
a visit  to  Santiago  Oji,  a district  that  has  been 
calling  for  a teacher  for  thjee  years.  This 
place  is  situated  forty-five  miles  east  of  the 
Pumata  Mission,  on  a peninsula  inhabited  by 
20,000  Indians.  As  we  neared  the  place,  we 


(297) 


Baptism  in  Lake  Titicaca 


298  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

were  met  by  Indians  carrying  flags,  and  the 
women  showered  us  with  flowers,  to  show 
their  appreciation  of  our  visit. 

In  the  meetings  that  followed,  great  en- 
thusiasm was  manifested;  and  after  a few 
days,  forty  came  forward  for  baptism,  even 
before  a call  had  been  made.  We  counseled 
them  to  wait,  promising  that  some  one  would 
be  sent  as  soon  as  possible  to  teach  them  more 
fully. 

On  our  return,  we  stopped  at  Quenuani,  the 
place  where  three  years  before  the  priests  had 
stirred  up  hundreds  of  Indians  to  try  to  kill 
us,  and  where  they  so  nearly  succeeded. 
These  two  priests  are  now  dead.  One  of 
these,  when  dying,  sent  for  our  missionary; 
and  Brother  Ford  responded  to  the  call, 
ministering  to  him  in  his  last  hours.  The 
other,  only  a young  man,  died  of  a hor- 
rible contagious  disease.  Alone  and  without 
friends,  he  was  buried  by  three  Indians  hired 
for  the  purpose. 

These  enemies  are  dead  and  forgotten,  but 
the  work  of  the  Lord  is  advancing  and  pros- 
pering; and  in  this  very  place  where  they 
tried  so  hard  to  destroy  and  obliterate  the 
work,  there  is  a fine  substation.  We  have 


A Road  Along  the  Edge  of  a Two  Thousand 
Foot  Precipice 


300  IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  INCAS 

there  a school  with  fifty-nine  pupils  in  daily 
attendance,  the  teacher,  Raimondo  Gomez, 
holding  a session  for  the  girls  from  6 to  9 
a.  m.j  and  for  the  boys  from  9:30  a.  m.  to 
2:30  p.  m.  Twenty-nine  were  baptized  in 
Lake  Titicaca  on  our  last  visit  there.  The 
lake  was  very  rough  at  the  time,  but  the  peo- 
ple said  they  wanted  to  proceed  with  the  ordi- 
nance. The  waves  were  running  so  high  that 
even  before  I could  immerse  the  candidates, 
the  waves  had  dashed  over  us;  but  the  In- 
dians took  it  all  in  good  part,  saying  that  the 
lake  was  rejoicing  with  them. 

God  has  done  some  wonderful  things  for 
the  people  of  this  place,  and  in  no  other  place 
in  the  whole  field  are  the  effects  of  the  mes- 
sage seen  as  here.  Men  and  women  who 
seemed  wholly  given  over  to  evil  lives  have 
turned  to  God.  One  woman  especially  is  the 
wonder  of  the  whole  district.  Three  years  ago 
she  was  wholly  depraved,  drunken  and  vicious, 
and  feared  by  all.  Her  husband  and  children 
had  driven  her  from  her  home,  and  she  was 
utterly  abandoned.  She  attended  our  first 
meetings  in  this  district,  and  gave  herself  to 
God,  and  has  ever  since  lived  a most  ex- 
emplary life.  It  was  she  who  ran  six  miles 


AMONG  THE  MISSION 


301 


to  bring  back  our  horses  that  had  been  cut 
loose  and  slashed  at  the  time  of  the  assault. 
She  returned  to  her  home  and  family;  and  as 
the  result  of  the  beautiful  life  she  has  since 
lived  in  Jesus,  all  her  family  have  been  bap- 
tized and  are  faithful  members  of  the  church. 
These  words  are  frequently  heard  in  this  dis- 
trict: “If  the  gospel  can  do  such  things  for 
people,  then  I want  it  also.”  I am  glad  that 
we  have  such  a message,  a living  message. 

After  spending  a few  days  with  these  peo- 
ple, Brother  Ford  and  I separated,  he  to  go 
home  to  his  station,  and  I to  go  on  to  Puno, 
where  the  Lake  Titicaca  Indian  Mission  head- 
quarters are  now  established.  When  I ar- 
rived, I found  awaiting  me  a large  delega- 
tion of  Indians  from  the  island  of  Imantana, 
who  implored  me  to  come  and  visit  them. 
They  had  made  two  new  boats  of  lake  grass 
for  our  use,  and  had  come  so  often  that  we 
simply  could  refuse  them  no  longer;  so  I am 
making  preparation  to  go  with  them. 

Remember  us  at  the  throne  of  grace.  The 
enemy  is  making  every  effort  to  destroy  what 
we  have  done;  so  we  must  have  help  and  wis- 
dom from  the  dear  Lord  to  go  on  with  the 
work. 


The  people  which  sat  in  dark- 
ness saw  great  light ; and  to 
them  which  sat  in  the  region 
and  shadow  of  death  light  is 
sprung  up,” 


... 


4 


